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ASTRAL PR ROJECTION

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THE CASE FOR

ASTRAL
PROJECTION
By Sylvan Muldoon

Author of “The Projection
of the Astral Body,” etc.

The Aries Press
GEORGE ENGELKE
CHICAGO. 1936

Copyright 1936 by SYLVAN MULDOON

Second Printing

Printed in the U.S.A.

“Tt argues ill for the boasted freedom of opinion among scien-
tific men, that they have so long refused to institute a scientific
investigation into the existence and nature of facts asserted by
so many competent and credible witnesses, and which they are
freely invited to examine when they please. For my part I too
much value the pursuit of truth, and the discovery of any new
fact in nature, to avoid inquiry because it appears to clash with
prevailing opinions.”

Sirk. WILLIAM Crookes

“IN MANY INSTANCES, AT THE TIME OF DEATH OR
OF GREAT DANGER ... THE DYING MAN OR VICTIM OF
AN ACCIDENT, EVEN WHEN SUCH ACCIDENT IS NOT
FOLLOWED BY DEATH, APPEARS TO A FRIEND IN HIS
USUAL ASPECT. THE PHANTOM GENERALLY REMAINS
SILENT. SOMETIMES HE SPEAKS OR ANNOUNCES
HIS DEATH.”

Dr. ALEXIS CARREL—Man, the Unknown.

PREFACE

I need say little concerning my purpose in presenting this
volume, for the title itself aptly conveys my object, viz., to set
forth evidence to establish the case for astral projection, which
I consider, not a religious, but a strictly scientific problem.

Except for one instance, I have not resorted to quoting my own
experiences in establishing this case—for two very good rea-
sons: In the first place, many of my past experiences were re-
corded in my first technical book, The Projection of the Astral
Body, and my more recent will soon appear in my second tech-
nical work, where they will be used as a basis of explanation.
Secondly, in setting forth a case, the quoting of one’s own
personal experiences is often looked upon by the more cri-
tical as a fabrication, to strengthen one’s contentions.

As the early researchers, backed by the Society for Psych-
ical Research (referred to briefly by the initials, S. P. R.) made
an extensive census of hallucinations, that is, recorded the tes-
timony of persons claiming to have seen phantaems of the
living, I have, during available time and on my own resources,
been collecting testimony from persons claiming to have been
phantoms—to have had out-of-the-body experiences.

In this first non-technical volume I have tried to gather to-
gether under one cover, for ready reference of future research-
ers, not only the more notable published cases along this line
which have been scattered here and there; but also cases from

my own private collection. Many of the latter have been se-
cured at great expenditure of time and labor, by extensive
correspondence, cross-correspondence and personal interviews.
Yet they comprise only a portion of the total I have up to
date recorded.

Since I am not sustained by any organization and intend to
continue building up a large census of these experiences, ulti-
mately to be published, I urge any of my readers who have or
may come in contact with such cases to join with me in bringing
them to light. In this connection, any communication will
reach me at my home address: Darlington, Wisconsin.

In conclusion I take this opportunity to thank those individ-
uals who have already forseen the great value of bringing
forth a census of this kind and have contributed their experien-
ces toward it, for it may eventually form a working basis on
which our conservative scientists will venture to attain ex-
perimental proof of the spiritual nature of man and the problem
of survival.

S. M.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE - - - - + + + Page 15

A Spiritual Body in Man
Discoveries of the Early Psychical Researchers
Doctrine of Astral Projection
Literature on the Subject
Bilocation Analogous to Projection
A Parallel in Mesmerism
Similarity of Projection to Hindu Samadhi
Some Scientific Experiments
Percepients Who Witnessed Exteriorization

Alleged Spirit Communications Relating to Astral Body

1]

PART TWO .

Believed Himself Dead, Feared Shocking Wife
Floats Horizontally in Air
Awakens in Strange House
Projects while Writing
Visits Scene of Her Husband’s Boyhood
Projects to Missing Dead Man
A Mother Projects, Finds Her Baby Well
Naval Captain Projects to Wife
Physician Watches Himself Exteriorize
Goes Prospecting in the Astral Body
Has Two Vivid Experiences
Indian Goes to Happy Hunting Ground
Projection During Anzsthesia
A Case Recorded by Jung Stilling
Methodist Lady Projects, Becomes Medium
' Visits Her Cousin’s Future Home
Minister Floats Above His Freezing Body
Over the Hospital Bed
Finds Her Dog in Astral World
Experiences of Gladys Osborne Leonard
Goes Downstairs in Ghost Body
Walks on Air, Sees Physical Body
Sees Himself Separate During Anzsthesia

Projects and Appears at Seance

12

Page 47

Ghost Goes Home During Operation
Finds Freedom and Beauty in Spirit World
Between Time and Eternity
Projection Preceded by Catalepsy
Between Two Worlds
Finds Her Astral Body Beautiful
Consciously Drawn out of Her Flesh
Spends Several Days in Spirit World
Projects to Sick Friend
Lies on Back, Projects
Novelist has Five Projections
Projects Through Tank of Molten Glass
Experiments of Oliver Fox
Believes Rhythm Assists Projection
Phantoms of Self
Projection or Clairvoyance?

A Conscious Peter Ibbetson
An Entirely Conscious Projection
Sees Thought-Forms While Projected
An Experience of Cromwell Varley
Projects Eighty-Three Years Ago
Some Miscellaneous Cases
Famous Author Visits Eternity
Learns to Project Voluntarily
Visits Relatives in Spirit World

13

PART THREE - = = + += + Page 143
The Verity Case
Where was Lurancy’s Spirit?
An Answer to Richet’s Objections
Was Mrs. Piper Projected?

Conclusion

CONCLUSION - - . - - - Page 167

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PART ONE

A SPIRITUAL BODY IN MAN

The belief that every human being poaseases a spiritual body
is age old and, in truth, the foundation of practically all re-
ligions. Man’s spiritual body has been designated by any
number of names—aspirit, subtle body, entity, astral body,
etheric body, the desire body, the luminous body, the fluidic
body, the double, the finer body, the phantom, the pneuma
(Greek), the rauch (Hebrew), the Ka (Egyptian), and most
commonly as the ghost.

Among the various branches of the occult there has always
been some conflict over exactly how many of these finer bodies
mortal man possesses and exactly how each is to be desig-
nated; but I have always believed that it would be much
better and more scientific policy to concentrate on the accum-
ulation of evidence for one of these bodies, determine its con-
dition at death and immediately following, learn if possible its
true status and inter-relation with the physical, instead of
arguing about the other half dozen and theorizing about the
ultimate fate of the soul thousands of years from now.

So, for the purpose of this book, I shall use any or all of
the above mentioned terms synonymously—spirit, astral body,
phantom, ghost, etc., meaning one and the same.

As I have said, such a belief is age old. The Indian’s spirit,
at death, went to the happy hunting ground. The ancient
Egyptians believed in a spiritual principle in man which they
called the Ka, and it was this Ka, which, after the physical body
was dead and mummified, visited it from time to time.
Many of the older Egyptian paintings picture their conception
of the Ka as a sort of bird-like double of the deceased.

In the lately translated Tibetan Book of the Dead, edited by
Dr. W. Y. Evans-Wentz—the Bardo Thédol—believed to have

17

been written in the eighth century A. D. and embodying teach-
ings thought by experts to be about two centuries older, the
idea that man contains a spirit is emphasized at great length.

While many people, especially churchgoers, shun all in-
vestigation into the true nature of man, it has nevertheless al-
ways been quite generally believed by those same people that
the spirit survives bodily death. And, while the word ghost is
considered rather taboo and ridiculous when mentioned by a
scientific researcher, thousands hold the word in high esteem
when speaking of how Christ “gave up the ghost” on Calvary.

DISCOVERIES OF EARLY PSYCHICAL RESEARCHERS

Years ago, when the early members of the Society for
Psychical Research—Myers, Gurney, Podmore, Barrett, the
Sidgwicks, and others, first began their investigations into
alleged spirit manifestations, telepathy, sleep, dreams, hyp-
notism, and numerous other allied subjects, they were liter-
ally amazed at the immensity of the testimony pertaining to
ghosts of the dead, ghosts of the dying, and more startling still,
ghosts of the living—ghosts of persons still living in the flesh!

Actually hundreds of sane and practical people were
examined, questioned, and cross-examined, who steadfastly
maintained that they had seen ghosts. Those critical, yet broad-
minded, researchers discovered, for example, that there were
a great number of ghosts appeared to others at the time of
death, even prior to death, and that ghosts of the living
appeared and depicted some condition, for instance, tragical,
of the person they represented. The statements of those claiming
to have seen ghosts of the living were given rigorous scrutiny.

The result of the first Census, published in Phantasms of
the Living, and the second and far more extensive one pub-
lished in Vol. X. of the S. P. R. Proceedings, confirmed the
belief that such perception of phantoms was more than chance
could account for; that there was some connection between

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the apparition and the person whose ghost was seen, that these
claims could not be laughed or ridiculed away. So, forty years
ago, phantoms of the living was the all-absorbing issue among
psychical researchers.

The person whose double appeared some distance from his
actual physical habitat was designated as the agent. The seer
of the ghost was referred to as the percepient.

Mr. Myers and Mr. Podmore carried their investigations
much farther than their colleagues, and it is interesting to note
that their opinions as to how phantoms of living persons were
brought about and seen by others, were at variance. The fact
alone that those two men, working together, disagreed in their
postulations shows conclusively that they were searchers for
the truth and not conspiring to deceive the public.

Each of those great thinkers incorporated his views in sub-
sequent volumes. Myers brought forth Human Personality
and its Survival of Bodily Death. Mr. Podmore’s ideas were
recorded in his, Apparitions and Thought Transference.

To show how these two really ingenious men differed in
their explanations of the phenomenon, let us turn for a
moment to their records and notice how each commented upon
the same case. The case is one in which a physically alive
mother (Mrs. Alexander) paid a ghostly visit to her sick
daughter (Helen Alexander)—miles away— and was seen by
the latter’s nurse whose name was Frances Reddell. I abbre-
viate the statement of the percepient, Frances Reddell.

Antony, Torpoint

14th December, 1882
“Helen Alexander...... was lying here very ill with ty-
phoid fever, and was attended by me. I was standing at the
table by her bedside, pouring out her medicine, at about four
o'clock in the morning. . . . I heard the call-bell ring (this had
been heard twice before during the night in the same week) and
was attracted by the door of the room opening, and by seeing a

19

person entering the room whom I instantly felt to be the
mother of the sick woman.

“She had a brass candlestick in her hand, a red shawl over
her shoulders, and a flannel petticoat on which had a hole in
the front. I looked at her as much as to say, ‘I am glad you
have come,’ but the woman looked at me sternly, as much as
to say, ‘Why wasn’t I sent for before?’

“I gave the medicine to Helen Alexander, and then turned
round to speak to the vision—but no one was there! She had
gone! She was a short dark person and very stout. At about six
o’clock that morning Helen Alexander died. Two days later her
parents and a sister came to Antony, and arrived between one
and two o'clock in the morning; I and another maid let them
in, and it gave me a great turn when I saw the living likeness of
the vision I had seen two nights before! |

“I told the sister (of Helen Alexander) about the vision,
and she said that the description of the dress exactly answered
to her mother’s and that they had brass candlesticks at home
exactly like the one I had described...... :

Signed: Frances Reddell

Frances Reddell’s story was corroborated by the mistress of
the house where Helen Alexander died, Mrs. Pole-Carew, who
testified that Frances Reddell had described the ghostly visitor
to her shortly after seeing it. Further strength is given the
incident by the fact that Miss Reddell had never had any odd
experience of the sort before. The Hon. Mrs. Lyttelton, for-
merly of Selwyn College, Cambridge, testified that Miss
Reddell was a most practical and matter of fact person and
was particularly impressed by the fact that she saw a hole in
the (ghost) mother’s flannel petticoat, made by the busk of her
stays. The description of the ghost and all other details tallied
with the description of the actual living mother.

Mr. Podmore offered the following conjecture: “The
simplest explanation and that which involves the least de-

20

parture from known torms of telepathy is that the figure seen
by Frances Reddell was due to thought transference from the
mind of the dying girl.”

Mr. Myers comments on the same case:

“Now what I imagine to have happened here is this. The
mother, anxious about her daughter, paid her a psychical visit
during the sleep of both. In so doing, she actually modified a
certain position of space, not materially nor optically, but in
such a manner that persons perceptive in a certain fashion
would discern in that part of space the conception of her own
aspect latent in the invading mother’s mind.”

It is obvious that Mr. Podmore had a sentiment for trying
to rule out spiritism and try to account for such phenomena
by mind and telepathy alone. (Professor Charles Richet later
tried to explain these phenomena with a similar sentiment, a
theory he called the sixth sense.) On the other hand Myers’
writings all hint at the fact that he believed something more
than a thought traveled from agent to percepient—that it was
a projection of some portion of the agent’s spiritual element.

Personally I am convinced that these men were correct to a
certain degree, and wrong—all of them wrong—to a certain
degree, that they were making the mistake of trying to make
their “pet theories” fit every case where phantoms of the
living were seen.

I realize it will ire many of my Spiritualist and Theosophist
friends to hear me say anything good for Richet or Podmore,
after all I have written concerning the astral body and its
reality, but the truth is this: There are cases, multitudes of
them, where an idea like Mr. Podmore’s or Mr. Richet’s seems
most fitting; and there are other cases where the projection of
the astral body appears most logical; and still others where no
single explanation covers the facts.

There are arrival cases, where the phantom of the living
person is seen arriving at a certain place long before he ac-
tually arrives physically. There are cases where the apparition

21

of the living person is seen collectively—by several persons at
the same time; where the apparition is seen repeatedly by
different persons, or may be seen several times by the same
persons. And cases where the living person sees his own
phantasm. Space permitting, we will cite examples of these
cases later; I wish to repeat, however, that regardless of all the
postulations set forth up to date, not one of them is valid enough
to explain all cases.

Since my own experiments and researches over a period of
years have been especially directed to the phenomenon known as
the projection of the astral body, and since that phenomenon
does account for many of these cases of ghosts of the living, we
will for the present ignore any other supposition—such as
Richet’s sixth sense or Podmore’s telepathic hallucinations—
regardless of their worth and turn directly to our subject. First
I feel that a brief description of astral projection will be in
order, mostly for the benefit of those readers unfamiliar with
the matter.

DOCTRINE OF ASTRAL PROJECTION*

Generally speaking, the doctrine of astral projection is that
every human being is made up of two counterparts—the
material and the non-material or ghost. The ghost is the vehicle
of consciousness, containing the energy of life and more truly the
real man than the physical body.

This ghost counterpart is capable, under certain conditions,
such as syncope, trance, while fainting, while under the in-
fluence of an anaesthetic, during sleep, etc., of entirely with-
drawing from its physical abode and traveling about as a
complete and separate entity.

Many claim to have seen the ghost hovering about the death-
bed. Such ghosts are intangible to physical objects and, while

*Much of this explanation is from my own original discoveries.—S. M.

22

usually invisible, they have sometimes been seen many miles
away from their physical bodies.

The composition of the ghost self is, I feel, not definitely
known at present. By some investigators it is thought to be
fluidic. Sir Oliver Lodge believes it to be etheric.* Others are
of the opinion that it is composed of highly refined matter—
atoms and electrons vibrating at infinitely high velocities.

At all times during projection, the ghost is in communication
with its physical counterpart by means of a line-of-force—a
sort of elastic cord, across which flows the vital energy sustain-
ing life in the unconscious body.

Like the astral body, the line-of-force is designated by a large
number of names, such as, the astral cord, the astral cable,
the silver cord, the psychic cord, the vital intermediary, the
fluidic cord, and others. In color it is grey and although
capable of infinite expansion, it may not be severed during the
projection of the ghost without causing certain and instan-
taneous death to the physical body.

There are two types of projections—involuntary and vol-
untary. In the former, the subject, through no effort of his own,
suddenly awakens to find himself conscious in a phantom
body, a ghost for the time being— a ghost of a living person!
In the voluntary type the subject actually projects himself out-
side of his physical body and becomes a ghost at will.

I would not have you believe, however, that ghosts of the
living are always conscious, for the projected phantom can
also be partially conscious (dreaming) or fully unconscious.
When the ghost is traveling about outside the body in an un-
conscious state the condition is known as astral somnambulism
and is similar to physical somnambulism or sleep-walking.

The ghost, in a state of astral somnambulism can perform
activities of the most unbelievable type—not only re-enact

*In this connection see, The Human Atmosphere, by Dr. Walter J. Kilner,
especially pp 2 and 43.

23

events which have occurred to the subject in the past but also
enact some which are destined to occur in the future! For
years, students of the occult have been fascinated by the pro-
phetic dream; yet here is a phenomenon far more amazing,
for the projected ghost enacts the future event, often in its
true locale.

The route the phantom travels while exteriorizing from the
physical body is as a rule specific. When one is in a lying-down
position, or horizontally at rest, the astral body advances from
the physical in an upward and outward direction while remain-
ing parallel to the latter.

After attaining a height of anywhere from three to six
feet above its shell, the phantom, still horizontal, will either
upright itself there or begin to move itself along on the air for
perhaps several yards, then upright, or come down into a
standing position some distance from its earthly counterpart.
Sometimes the phantom projects in a “spiral spin” and occa-
sionally the sensation is reversed, i. e., when ascending the sub-
ject feels he is descending.

Being thus projected entirely out of the physical and upright
the phantom is now able to travel about in the immediate vi-
cinity or far away. In my former work I fully discussed the
several methods by which the phantom moves and will not go
into that again, except to say that in traveling to distant places
time and space have no bearing upon the matter as the ghost is
functioning on the fourth dimension.

It must be kept in mind that these projections are controlled
by a seeming superior intelligence which appears to be innate
in or directed to the subject.* By way of explanation, let us
suppose that, in the case of Mrs. Alexander, visiting her
dying daughter, and being seen by the nurse, Frances Reddell, the
ghost seen was the projected astral body of Mrs. Alexander.

*The astral body is not held to be the soul, but one of the vehicles of
the soul.

24

Remember, this is only a supposition, for no one knows
whether the case was one of projection or not.

If such were the case, it was the super-normal faculties of
Mrs. Alexander’s mind which knew of the daughter’s illness,
caused the exteriorization, caused the phantom to travel. This
super-normal or super-conscious mind so far transcends ex-
planation as to be omnipotent.

When one is asleep, the senses are often particularly keen
and it is the specific maneuvering of the slumbering astral self
(that is, upward and outward on the air) which brings on
many of those peculiar dreams of rising, falling, floating,
flying, etc., which have so long puzzled psychologists.

Often when the astral body is in the air above the physical,
the subject will begin to grow conscious as it descends into the
latter and experience a “falling-dream”—one of those dreams
which our dream experts try to explain away as the result of
weak bed-springs or as symbolizing a falling off of business, etc.

LITERATURE ON THE SUBJECT

Up to the time of the appearance of the book, The Projection
of the Astral Body, in 1929, practically nothing of any value
concerning actual projection had ever been published, although
the literature of occultism fairly abounds in works about the
astral plane, the astral body and the like. In summing up this
literature I can do nothing better than reproduce the words of Dr.
Carrington verbatim, from his /ntroduction to the before-
mentioned book:

“Much has been written, in the past, concerning the Astral
Body—mostly in books devoted to Magic and Occultism. I
believe I have gone through the majority of such books care-
fully, in my endeavor to find some practical information
bearing upon this question (of projection) but with little
result. Thus there are numerous references to the astral body
in e. g. Eliphas Levi’s Doctrine and Ritual of Magic, in his

25

Key of the Mysteries (published in The Equinox, Vol. X.); in
A. E. Waite’s, Mysteries of Magic, and his Occult Sciences; in
Dr. Franz Hartman’s, Magic, White and Black, and in the va-
rious writings of Paracelsus.

“In the older works upon Sorcery and Witchcraft there are,
of course, frequent allusions to astral projection. Theosophical
literature is full of this subject, but even here I have been un-
able to find anywhere precise information (of actual pro-
jection) ...... This is true not only of the older books, such
as Leadbeater’s, The Astral Plane, and Annie Besant’s, Man and
his Bodies, but also the newer and more voluminous treatises,
such as those of Major Arthur E. Powell—The Etheric Body,
The Astral Body, The Mental Body, etc.

“In all these books, much theoretical information is given (of
course, from the strictly Theosophical point of view) but very
little practical advice. The same criticism applies to D’Assier’s
book Posthumous Humanity: A Study of Phantoms. Some in-
teresting spontaneous experiences are given in Little Journeys
into the Invisible: A Woman’s Actual Experiences in the
Fourth Dimension, by M. Gifford Shine; Some Occult Experi-
ences, by Johan van Manen; My Travels in the Spirit World,
by Caroline D. Larsen, and in other books of the kind; while
some curious lore of a general nature is contained in The
Astral Light by Nizida.

“An interesting historical study of this subject is given in
G. R. S. Mead’s, Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tra-
dition, in which he summarizes the views of the early Fathers,
as well as later conceptions. Charles Hallock’s book Luminous
Bodies: Here and Hereafter, contains little to the point. Occa-
sional references to what Mr. Myer’s (in his Human Person-
ality; called ‘Self Projection’ may be found ecattered through
the Journals and Proceedings of the S. P. R. ... Mr. A.
Campbell Holmes has some remarks upon the Double in his
Facts of Psychic Science and Philosophy, while I have devoted
chapters to the subject in my Modern Psychical Phenomenon

26

and Higher Psychical Development. Several years ago, Mr.
‘Prescot Hall published in the Journal of the A. S. P. R. a
number of communications of considerable interest, which he
had received regarding the astral body through the instrumen-
tality of a blind medium. Their value, of course, depends
altogether upon the authenticity of their source.

“This is practically all of the published material which I
have been enabled to find . . . with the exception of Mr.
Oliver Fox’s articles in the Occult Review, and two books in
French. These are: Le Fantome des Vivants, by H. Durville,
and Methode de Deboublement Personnel (Exterioration de la
Neuricite: Sorties en Astral) by M. Charles Lancelin.

... As I have said, with these exceptions, I have found prac-
tically nothing of value in the entire literature of the subject .. -”

To the foregoing list I would add two small books, The
Astral World by Swami Panchadasi; The Guiding Power by
George Starr White, M. D., and a small booklet Astral Travels
by “Helen.” all of a utopian nature; also Practical Astral Pro-
jection translated from the French by Yram. Besides The
Projection of the Astral Body and several magazine articles
by myself, two articles recently appeared in Prediction Mag-
azine, one by Wm. Gerhardi (March 1936) and another by
Dr. Nandor Fodor (June 1936).

BILOCATION ANALOGOUS TO PROJECTION

To go back into history we find that the Christian Church
described a phenomenon analogous to the projection of the
astral body which was termed bilocation.

From St. Paul’s testimony we have reason to assume that he
sometimes experienced bilocation, or the faculty of being
physically present in one place and spiritually present in an-
other. It will be recalled too that St. Paul in his first Epistle
to the Corinthians said: “There is a natural (physical) body
and there is a spiritual body.”

While preaching in the Church of St. Pierre du Queyroix at

27

Limoges on Holy Thursday in the year 1226, St. Anthony of
Padua remembered that he was due at the very time at services
in a monastery some distance away. So, while the congregation,
to which he was preaching, waited, he knelt down, drew his
hood over his head, and apparently transferred himself to the
monastery astrally;—for at the very time, St. Anthony was
seen by the assembled monks to step forth into their monastery
chapel, read his appointed passage and vanish!

According to the researcher Dr. Nandor Fodor, LLD.,
similar stories are recorded of Severus of Ravanna, St. Am-
brose, and St. Clement of Rome. Fodor further says: “Perhaps
the best known case of this type (bilocation or projection) is
dated September 17th, 1774. Alphonse de Liguori, imprisoned
at Arezzo, remained quiet in his cell and took no nourishment.
Five days later he awoke in the morning and said that he had been
at the death-bed of Pope Clement XLV. His statement was con-
firmed. He was seen in attendance by the bedside of the dying
Pope!”

A PARALLEL IN MESMERISM

Ordinarily we comprehend consciousness as being a function
of the physical brain. The Materialistic conception is that the
brain oozes thought, just as the liver oozes bile. While, as I
pointed out in the beginning, millions believe they survive the
decay of the physical brain, for the most part we cannot con-
ceive of consciousness, of one being consciously aware of his
feelings, thinking sanely, able to describe his sensations, apart
from his physical brain. Yet, when Andrew Jackson Davis
allowed himself to be mesmerized, his description shows that
his conscious mind was functioning without the use of his
physical brain or nerve tracts.

Notice especially that Davis says he could not use his phys-
ical organs; that he could not even move his tongue. But at the
same time, some mentality (other than his consciousness) was
giving messages through his physical organism.

28

At the time Davis was a young lad working in a store in the
village of Poughkeepsie. I now let Davis tell his own story, from
The Magic Staff:

“ . .. . William Levingston called at the store. During
a recital of many magnetic marvels he had himself performed,
both at home and abroad, he addressed himself to me and said:
‘Have you ever been mesmerized?’ In reply I informed him of
an unsuccessful experiment upon me by Mr. Grimes. Then he
said: ‘Come to my house tonight. Ill try you, if you don’t
object, and Edwin too.’ There was no reason for declining
and | therefore accepted his invitation.

“Before relating what happened on that memorable night,
however, I wish to call attention to the fact, that having no con-
fidence in the alleged phenomena of mesmerism, I was actu-
ated simply by what seemed to me to be the suggestion of the
moment—just like others whose curiosity had become superfi-
cially excited.

“ .... I felt the operator’s chilly hands pass and re-
pass my brow... Anon, all was intensely dark within. Dreadful
and strange feelings passed over my body and through my brain.
My emotions were painful . . . I had horrid convictions of what
the world calls Death. ‘Oh mother!’ thought I with terror, can
this be the period of my physical dissolution?

*‘My heart continued to perform its office; but its beatings were
less frequent. I felt the different senses that connect the mind
with the outer world gradually closing. ‘Alas!’ methought des-
paringly, are they closing forever?...... I could no longer
hear the busy and active world without, nor feel the touch of
any object, living or dead. No longer, thought I, can I behold
the system of nature. The fragrant fields are gone, never more
to be the scenes of happy contemplation.

eta aceite oS Thoughts like these flashed through my awestruck
mind. What am I to do?”

Davis goes on at great length to describe the sensations and
emotions he was experiencing, much of which I here omit.

29

Eventually he resolved, within himeelf, to try to regain his nor-
mal physical status. He said, to himself:

** *T will submit no longer to this dangerous and dreadful ex-
periment. Never again shall my marvel-seeking self lead me
into such pitfalls. Yes, I will speak and protest against this
dreadful operation!....But oh, how frightful! My tongue
seemed instantly to be enlarged and clung to the roof of my
mouth. My cheeks seemed extremely swollen and my lips were
joined as if by death, apparently to move no more.

“Another resolution passed through my brain and instantly
I obeyed its suggestion. I made a desperate effort to change my
position—particularly to disengage my hands—but (horrible
beyond description!) my feet, my hands, my whole body, were
entirely beyond the control of my volition.* I could no longer
claim proprietorship over my own person. All was lost, it
seemed, irretrievably lost. I felt convinced that external life
was for me no more. What could I do?

“True, I could exercise my mental faculties to the highest
degree—could reason with a startling alertness—but could not
hear, see, feel, speak, or move...... I queried and reasoned
within myself thus: I have a body— a tangible body—I re-
sided in the form—but is it my natural or spiritual .body? Is
it adapted to the outer world, or to post-mortem life? Where am
I? I am so lonely. Alas, if this be death!........ What sur-
prised me more than anything else was the gushing forth of
novel and brilliant thoughts—extending apparently over the
vast landscape of some unknown world of indescribable beauty.

“ .... Presently all was dark as before . . . Death seemed
inevitable. Every moment I approached nearer and nearer to a
mysterious dark valley . . . Again and again I retreated in my
mind, but every thought wafted me nearer that fearful vale of
inconceivable darkness. I was filled with terror.

“|... Suddenly, with an unearthly shudder and terrible to

*See Astral Catalepsy in The Projection of the Astral Body, pp 10-11
30

relate—I found myself whirling . . . I seemed to be revolving
in a spiral path, with a wide sweep at first, and then smaller;
so that every revolution, on my descending flight, contracted the
circle of my movement . . . I awoke to physical consciousness,
mentally revolving in a circuitous form . . . sound vibrated
through the labyrinths of my ears, sensation flashed over my
whole frame.

“ .... But how joyfully surprised. I was precisely in
the same condition as when | had seated myself for the exper-
iment! ...I could remember nothing except my mental
suffering; and, somehow, in my bewilderment, I did not feel
quite certain that I had not died. I could not realize that I had,
in reality, returned from the dark valley of death. But a few
penetrating glances about the room and upon the familiar faces
of those around, convinced me. ... . whereupon I arose and
greeted the amazed and delighted witnesses.”

“What is the matter?” Davis asked. “What brought these
folks here?” “I sent for them,” replied the operator, “to see you
perform”. “Perform!” Davis gasped.

“Yes—perform. You’re a queer youth to be sure.’ Leving-
ston said, ‘but I know what your Power is called .. . .It is
called Clairvoyance by Chancey Hare Townsend. I have read
his book on Facts in Mesmerism in which he describes cases of
seeing blindfolded, just as you have done here tonight to
perfection.’ ”

Davis was puzzled at the operator’s statements. “What’s
been done,” he inquired. “Tell me about it.”

Levingston replied: “Why you read from your forehead the
large letters on the newspaper; told time by our watches. ....
besides you described where some of us are diseased, all to our
perfect satisfaction.”

Davis tells how he repeated the mesmeric sittings with Mr.
Levingston and became the object of both reverence and scorn
among his townsfolk. He no longer experienced throes at the
dreadful intermediate state but passed, in less than thirty min-

31

utes, into a very pleasant state of mental existence. In the
chapter My First Flight Through Space he wrote: “As usual
my mind was rendered incapable of controlling the slightest
muscle, or of realizing any definite sensation except a kind of
waving fluctuation. . . .This was a very strange sensation, but
not unpleasant, but in a few moments I passed into the most
delightful state of tranquility . .. 1 was completely born again
in the spirit. My thoughts were most peaceful. My whole
nature was completely expanded.”

It may be only coincidence, but is it not a remarkable co-
incidence, that Mr. Davis tells of being disengaged from his
physical body while magnetized, while Mr. Cleave tells of being
seen in a phantom body while magnetized? Is it coincidence
or is the magnetic trance apropos to astral projection?

Mr. Cleave and his friend Mr. Sparks were naval engineer-
ing students at Plymouth and were known by the researchers
Myers and Gurney. They relate the following story:

“Sparks, magnetized his friend Cleave who had expressed a
desire to see a young lady living at Woodsworth and to be seen
by her. Cleave, after about twenty minutes’ magnetic sleep,
declared that he had seen the lady, that she had looked at him and
had placed her hands over her eyes. Three days afterwards, on
the 18th of January, the experiment was repeated. The mag-
netized Cleave declared that he imagined he had frightened the
lady . . . On the following day, Cleave received a letter from the
young lady... She declared that on Friday she had
been terrified at the sight of Cleave walking into her room. She
had thought that it might be a vision of her imagination. On the
following Monday, however, she had been even more alarmed at
seeing him again, very distinctly.”

SIMILARITY OF PROJECTION TO HINDU SAMADHI

In the past it is possible that hundreds of persons have been
buried alive, that is, prior to the modern methods of embalming
now generally practiced. Cases of suspended animation, pro-

82

jection, deep-trance could easily have been mistaken for death
by the hasty, when, as a matter of fact, the ghost may have re-
turned.

Anne Carter Lee, the mother of General Robert E. Lee, was
pronounced dead in October 1805 and laid to rest in the family
mausoleum. Seven days later an elderly sexton, bringing
flowers into the burial-place, heard a voice from the tomb.
Terrified, he informed the family. They entered the mausoleum
and discovered that the woman was alive! She recovered com-
pletely from this horrifying experience which occurred two
years before the birth of Robert E. Lee! One collector has re-
ported five hundred and eighty cases of this sort (suspended
animation).

There are in India certain Hindus who can bring on this
state of apparent death voluntarily. Samadhi they call it and it
seems to be a self-induced catalepsy—an intermediate state
between life and death, so akin to the latter in fact that the
subject can actually be buried.

A most extraordinary case of this kind occurred many years
ago when a yogi from the Province of Lahore named Haridas
was buried for a period of thirty days. Haridas, after entering
the state of samadhi, was placed in a securily tied sack, the sack
then placed in a box which was locked, the keys being de-
posited with the British General. The box was then placed in
a brick vault, the door of which was sealed with Prince Ranjeet
Singh’s seal and a guard of British soldiers stood watch over
the vault day and night.

Thirty days later the vault was opened, box unlocked, sack
untied, and the yogi, very emancipated was resusticated by his
friends. This test was conducted under the strict supervision
of Sir. Claude Wade and Raja Ranjeet Singh.

Hamid Bey who has startled the Western world with his demon-
strations has undertaken several prolonged public burials
while in a state of samadhi. He remained buried an hour in

Atlanta, Ga.; three hours in Englewood, N. J.; seven hours
33

in San Diego, Cal, etc.—without any coffin, having been placed
directly in the ground, with the earth covering his face and
body—in the presence of sceptical newspaper men. Accounts
of these burials were published in the press at the time and
are available to anyone interested.

A more recent statement vouching for voluntary suspended
animation comes from Upton Sinclair the brilliant playwright,
novelist, politician and publicist, published in July 1936,* in
which he tells of a friend of his who came daily to his house and
gave amazing demonstrations. While Sinclair offers no explan-
ation he says in all sincerity:

“He had the ability to produce anaesthesia in many parts of
his body and stick hat-pins through his tongue and cheeks with-
out pain; he could go into a deep trance in which his body be-
came rigid and cold. Once I put his head on one chair and his
heels on another and stood in the middle as if he were a two
inch plank. We have a motion picture film showing a 150 Ib.
rock being broken with a sledge-hammer on his abdomen while
he lay in this trance.

“The vital functions were so far suspended in this trance
that he could be shut up in an air-tight coffin and buried under-
ground for several hours; nor was there any ‘hocus-pocus’
about this—I know physicians who got the coffins and arranged
for the tests and watched every detail. In Ventura, California,
it was done in a ball park and a game of ball played over the

Numerous travellers and investigators, returning from the
Orient—India, Egypt, and other Eastern countries, have re-
ported similar cases. The occultists, of course, maintain that
during these burials, the body of sensation—the astral body— is
projected from its material form, and the latter, though still
attached to the astral cord—survives by its vegetative func-
tioning; that enough vital energy reaches the body by way of
cord to prevent complete expiration.

*Prediction Magazine
34

On the other hand, the average critic will probably say that
these spectacular performances never take place at all, that the
witnesses were deluded by magic or magicians. In nine cases
out of ten such critics know nothing about samadhi or magic
either. Thus their opinions are of little value. So, let us take
the testimony of a man who is qualified, by experience, to
speak—the world famous magician, Howard Thurston.

Thurston made an extensive and sceptical investigation of the
matter and stated emphatically that samadhi is not trickery. He
personally collected and enumerated weighty evidence along this
line which he published a few years ago and startled the world by
telling how ghosts of the living and ghosts of persons apparently
dead were seen far from their physical forms which they later
re-entered, and he expressed a suggestion that projection of the
astral body was the explanation.

Thurston, who was acclaimed a master of the occult mys-
teries of India, tells how he made the acquaintance of several
native gentlemen who were firm believers in the occult powers
of yogi and claimed to have witnessed many unusual exhibitions.

He says:*

“In the annals of Ghosts, the theory exists that an etherial
form is freed from the body after death and can make itself
evident and visible. The Hindus believe that this action also
transpires during the samadhi, but that the freed form is later
able to resume its place in the body. This is something that
psychic investigators have had little opportunity to study. .. .
The question is intriguing. People say they have seen ghosts
of those who have passed on. Have any of them seen ghosts of
those who have not passed on, but are suspended in this
strange state that is neither life nor death? Yes, and I shall
give instances of actual cases. All have been at least partially
corroborated by more than one person, and I am convinced
that my informants were sincere...... -

*True Ghost Stories

35

Mr. Thurston tells of a yogi who, during samadhi, was
buried at Delhi for a period of eight days. During that time
his double was seen in Bombay! The truth of the incident is
strengthened by the testimony of several witnesses whom Mr.
Thurston questioned.

Again he tells how a yogi occasionally came to the house of
a wealthy Calcutta native to receive gifts. The yogi later went
North to the country from which he came.

“Two weeks later,” Thurston’s account goes on to state, “the
yogi entered the room where the Calcutta man was sitting,
gazed at him intently for a full minute, and then left, with neither
greeting nor farewell. The Calcutta man was amazed, but con-
vinced of the yogi’s occult powers, felt sure he had seen a
ghostly manifestation. He inquired in Calcutta and made sure
the yogi had actually left town. Then he wrote to a friend in
Northern India to inquire about the holy man. A few weeks later
he received a reply which stated that the yogi was in Northern
India and that he had just completed a term of samadhi. The Cal-
cutta man was convinced he had seen the ghost of the man who
was still alive! . . . I know of authentically reported cases in
America which are more astounding than those I have just
related... .”

He relates the case of Roger Martin, who, while in a state of
apparent death in Chicago was seen—and talked to—by his
sister Cynthia, in Philadelphia. The nurse, caring for Roger,
stated that he had lapsed into a state of coma, after a sudden
illness, two nights before, and that for several hours they had
believed him dead. The period, described by the nurse, corre-
sponded with the time of Cynthia’s vision.

Thurston also tells of one, Benjamin Gough, of Ohio, who,
from the age of sixteen was subject to deep trance spells and
was often pronounced dead, by physicians called in. Several
times Gough’s projected ghost was seen elsewhere at the time
of suspended animation. After relating several other cases,
Thurston says: “This . . . trance condition seems very closely

36

related to the samadhi of India, although the Hindus assume it
voluntarily. .... Yet of all the ghosts of which I have heard or
read, these ghosts of the living seem to be the most remarkable.”

SOME SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS

Some years ago, Dr. Duncan McDougall, of Haverhill Mass.,
conducted some unique experiments in which he weighed a
number of patients dying from consumption, at the moment of
death. He placed the cot containing the patient on a delicately
balanced scale—so that the patient (bed and all) was weighed.
At the moment of death the beam of the balance went up and
struck the upper arm suddenly. The weight thus lost was cal-
culated and was found, in four out of six cases, to be between 2
and 21% ounces.

Although the experiments of Prof. L. V. Twining in de-
tecting a loss of weight in small animals at death were given
considerable publicity, Mr. Twining writes this author that he
does not consider his discoveries of much importance even
though they were made under proper conditions at the Los
Angeles Polytechnic Institute. So we will omit his testimony.
Whether a loss of weight at the very moment of death is indic-
ative of some substance leaving the body, I leave the reader to
conclude for himself.*

In France, several prominent men of science, including Col-
onel Albert de Rochas, M. Charles Lancelin, M. Hector Dur-
ville, and others, claim to have extracted the astral body by
hypnosis and mesmerism and to have performed many ingen-
ious experiments with it.

Colonel Rochas claimed that with his subject in deep trance,
he could, by suggestion, cause the etheric body to exteriorize in
a sort of plastic form and unite into a phantasmal shape out-

*Dr. R. A. Watters, of the William Bernard Johnston Foundation, Reno,
Nevada, claims to have successfully photographed “souls” of insecto—
mice etc., at the moment of death.

37

side the physical. The phantom, thus extracted, could be
lengthened by the will of the operator, could pass through
material things, was the seat of sensation, etc. When the Col-
onel suggested that the phantom take on her own mother’s form
the suggestion was carried out.

Durville, President of the Magnetic Society of France, in his
book Le Fantome des Vivants, deals with the subject at great
length. His book is divided into two parts; part one being his-
torical and explaining the general theory of the double. Part
two sets forth his original experiments in which the astral body
was apparently projected by mesmerism. For instance, Dur-
ville tells that the subject of the experiment is constantly en
rapport with the double through the medium of the fluidic cord
which is capable of elongation, the phantom is attired in a sort
of gauze-like substance, sense impressions are conveyed across
the cord, light is detrimental to success, etc.

In one chapter Durville states how calcium sulphide screens
were placed some distance from the subject and the suggestion
given that the phantom approach one of them. As a result that
screen glowed up from the vital radiations emitted by the
ghost when nearing it. Some other successes were reported by
Durville such as moving the straw of a sthenometer by the ex-
teriorized phantom. Some of this material is of absorbing in-
terest and, according to Dr. Carrington, agrees remarkably
with the descriptions and experiments set forth by the present
writer elsewhere. Durville concludes his book as follows:

“Projection of the astral body is a certain fact, capable of
being demonstrated by means of direct experiment. This also
demonstrates to us that living force is independent of matter,
and that our individuality is composed of a physical body and
an intelligent soul and a vital link—the astral body. Since
this phantom can exist and function apart from the physical
body, it may also exist after death. That is, immortality is a
fact which is proved scientifically.”

The work of M. Charles Lancelin states that projection is

38

the result of externalization of neuric (nervous) energy and
that the phantom is composed of this force. This outflowing of
neuricity takes place in everyone, but very pronouncedly in
some individuals, and is capable of being measured by del-
icately constructed instruments. Space forbids going into
Lancelin’s discoveries, suffice it to say, they corroborate the
findings of other researchers in the same line.

Photographic evidence, that is photographing of the exter-
iorized phantom, is contained in the works of Rochas, Durville,
Darget, Aksakof, Delanne, Ochorowicz and others. While this
might, at first thought, seem preposterous, it is not unreason-
able to suppose that the vital radiations of the energetic body
can impress film, since the neural energy is akin to electricity
and Professor Le Bon and colleagues have already shown that
—by purely physical means—it is possible to stabalize and
photograph electric current. Prof. Fukurai of the University of
Tokio even brings forth strong evidence that thought—a form
of energy—can be photographed, as does Dr. Baraduc.

At the Hague, two Dutch scientists (physicists) Drs. Malta
and Zaalberg Van Zelst tried to ascertain the chemical and
molecular structure—the composition—of the astral body.
Their conclusions, arrived at after prolonged experiment with
such instruments as the dynamistograph, etc., were:

“The body is capable of contraction and expansion, under
the action of the will—that is, the will of the astral body—the
expansion being about 1.26mm., or about 1/40,000,000 of its
own volume; its contraction being much greater—namely,
about 8mm., or 1/6,250,000 of its volume. Its specific weight is
about 12.24 mgs. lighter than hydrogen, and 176.5 times lighter
than air.

“The will acts upon this body mechanically, causing it to ex-
pand (rise) and contract (descend) as the action takes place.
It is thus subject to the law of gravity. There is an x force
(unknown force) which holds the molecules of this body to-
gether. The atoms composing this body are extremely small

39

widely separated and heavy. The internal density of the body
is about the same as that of the external air. If the pressure of
the air outside the body is increased, that inside the body will
increase in exact proportion . . . The weight of this body was
also calculated, and found by them to be about 69.5 gr.—
approximately 214 oz.” It should be noted that in the exper-
iments of Dr. Duncan McDougall, the weight was estimated at
about the same figure!

Many other prominent persons have been working either
directly or indirectly on the problem of the vital principle in
man. M. Yourievitch of the General Psychological Institute
of Paris, and Dr. Sidney Alrutz, of Upsale University, Sweden,
conducted experiments on the vital radiations from the human
body, using all sorts of instruments. M. Yourievitch proved
beyond a doubt the existence of what he termed “Y-rays.”
These rays emanate from all men and women.

Alrutz demonstrated with his apparatus that a curious force
issued from the human hands which could pass through certain
substances. Other tests have been made where photographic
plates—wrapped in black paper to exclude light— and held
against the subject’s forehead, have, when developed, shown
an image concentrated upon.

PERCEPIENTS WHO WITNESSED EXTERIORIZATION

In the literature of spiritism there have been from time to
time stories from persons claiming to have seen the astral body
(of persons other than themselves) exteriorized, or in the
process of exteriorization, especially at the time of death. It is
obvious that the truth of such testimony rests entirely with the
person claiming to have seen the vision and cannot be corrob-
orated. Andrew Jackson Davis in his Harmonial Philosophy
gives the following description of one case which he observed:

“A human being lies. . . .dying. .. .. . The physical body
grows negative and cold, in proportion as the elements of the

40

spiritual body become warm and positive. The feet become
cold first. The clairvoyant sees right over the head what may
be called a magnetic halo. .... golden in appearance and
throbbing as though conscious.

“Now the body is cold up to the knees and elbows. The legs
are then cold up to the hips and the arms to the shoulders. The
emanation is more expanded, though it has not risen higher in
the room. The death-coldness steals over the breast and
around on either side. The emanation has attained a position
near the ceiling. The person has ceased to breathe, the pulse
is still.

“The emanation is elongated and fashioned in the outline of
the human form. It is connected with the brain. The head of
the person throbs internally—a slow deep throb, not painful
but like the beat of the sea. The thinking faculties are rational,
while nearly every part of the person is dead. The golden
emanation is connected with the brain by a very fine life-thread.

“On the body of the emanation there appears something
white and shining, like the human head; next comes a faint
outline of the face divine; the fair neck and beautiful shoulders
manifest, and then in rapid succession all parts of the new
body down to the feet—a bright shining image, somewhat
smaller than the physical, but a perfect prototype in all its de-

tails... .. The fine life-thread continues attached to the old
brain. The next thing is the withdrawal of this electric prin-
ciple. When the thread snaps the spiritual body is free... . . ss

In the June 1936 issue of Prediction Magazine an article,
which appears to have been written with sincere honesty by
Dr. Riblet Brisbane Hout, tells how, on three different occa-
sions, he saw the projected astral bodies of patients under-
going operations. This occurred, he says, while he was attend-
ing surgical clinic in a large hospital in Chicago, he being one
of the three observers watching the operations. I abbreviate the
Doctor’s account:

“The entire personnel in the surgery that day were unaware

Al

of the phenomena I saw before me. To them the patient was
merely unconscious from deep inhalation of ether . . . I saw
the spirit of the patient float free in space above the operating
table, resting supine and inert ... As the anaesthetic deepened
. . . the freedom of the spirit became: greater, for the form
floated freely away from the physical counterpart . . . The spirit
was quiet, as if in deep peaceful sleep.

“TI know that the surgical activity was not affecting it, for the
anaesthetic had driven it from the physical vehicle and it
would remain separated from its body until the ether was
lessened sufficient to allow its return. At the finish of this
operation, while the wound was being closed the spirit came
closer to the body but had not entered it when the patient was
wheeled from the operating room...”

I will not here take the space to relate the other two visions
of the exteriorized astral phantom which Dr. Hout states he
saw except to say that one of them floated about horizontally in
the room, while the other was upright and quite active. He
continues: “Besides the spirit (astral body) I also saw spirit
forms of others who were present watching the operating tech-
nique... I was able to see in each case, at least part of the time,
the astral cord that united these spirit bodies with their physical
counterparts. This was represented to me as a silvery shaft of
light that wound around through the room in much the same way
as a curl of smoke will drift indifferently in still atmosphere...”

In this connection I might mention at this juncture that only
a few weeks ago an orthodox Methodist minister of irreproach-
able character, who has been well known in my neighborhood
for years, confided in me that while at the bedside of a dying
friend, early this spring, he saw a cloudlike light rise up out of
the body of his friend just as the latter expired. The light, he
stated, floated up into the air and disappeared.

Ignoring any criticism of T. K. (J. E. Richardson) it is inter-
esting to read in his Great Work: “Three times within the last
twenty years the writer has witnessed the phenomenon of the

42

separation of the spiritual body from the physical in the process
of death. In one of these instances the transit was that of his own
and only son...”

ALLEGED SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONS RELATING
TO ASTRAL BODY

A few statements, selected from many, alleged to have come
from spirits of the dead, by way of mediumship of diverse kinds,
give some interesting information relating to the astral body in
mortal man. We are told, for instance, that the spiritual or vital
energy never wholly leaves the material body during physical
life, even during projection—that there is always some portion
left therein. Commenting upon this in Light, Rev. Maitland says:

“This certainly bears out the communication purporting to
come from the spirit of F. W. H. Myers, through the hand of
Miss Cummins, in which he says that the whole of the astral body
never does leave the physical body during earth-life. The
essence, as he calls it, may dissociate itself for a time from the
physical body, but the bulk, or denser parts of the astral body
always remain behind, until death, joines to the finer parts
by the cord.”

Dr. Hodgson, in his Second Report on tha Trance Phenomenon
of Mrs. Piper (Proceedings, XIII, p. 400) says: “The state-
ments of the ‘communicators’ as to what occurs on the physical
side may be put in brief general terms as follows: ‘We all have
bodies composed of luminiferous ether enclosed in our flesh
and blood bodies. The relation of Mrs. Piper’s etherical body
to the etherical world, in which the communicators claim to
dwell, is such that a special store of peculiar energy is accum-
ulated in connection with her organism, and this appears to them
asa light...”

Needless to tell any of you who are acquainted with the teach-
ings of Spiritualism, Psychical Research, and Theosophy, that
spirits of the dead frequently speak of seeing mortals, especially

43

‘psychics’ as lights. This light which they see is in reality the
radiations from the spiritual or luminous body.

J. M. Peebles, M. D., M. A., in his work The Pathway of the
Human Spirit tells how he once asked a very exalted intelligence
(spirit) some questions on this topic.

“Can you,” asked Mr. Peebles, “while entrancing this medium,
see the real spirit?”

‘No, I can not. I can only sense and see the spiritual body.’
“When entrancing a mortal in the body, do you cause the owner
to vacate it?”

‘Not necessarily—entrancement is little more than mesmeric
influence.’

“Can you really see—can you describe the unfleshed, un-
clothed spirit of this body?”

‘I cannot. The most I can say through this instrument, is that
it seems to be a very distinctly entity, looking like a fiery dia-
mond, a brilliant point of dazzling brightness shining through
a very etherical white fluid, connected in some way, sympa-
thetically and vibratorially with the body that it owns.’ ”

In his book Science and Personality, William Brown, M. A.,
M. D., D. S. c., of the University of Oxford gives a report con-
cerning the etheric body in man which he obtained at a seance
with Mrs. Osborne Leonard, the famous London Medium.

Dr. Brown and William Archer (the dramatist) were close
friends before the death of the latter, and the spirit of William
Archer is said to have spoken to Dr. Brown through the Medium’s
control, Feda, an Indian maiden, whose characteristics of lan-
guage will be noted in the following extract from the report:

“William Archer says, ‘Yes, I have got a brain,’ and he says,
‘The brain that I am functioning through now was in some way
contained in my’—Oh, dear!—’in my physical body on earth.
It was part of it, yet independent of it . . . I think all impressions
come through the etheric brain, and they through the physical
one, and that is the reason why when the etheric brain is separ-

44

ated by what we call death from the physical brain, the physical
brain no longer functions.

“The etheric brain, which was the vital part of the physical
brain, is gone, separated, has an independent existence with, he
says, ‘as much an independent existence as a child has in the
ordinary physical process known as birth...’

** ‘He says. ‘When the greatest shock of all comes, which is
physical death, that of course is the culminating, the great shock
to the physical, the etheric brain has to leave; the cord is broken;
the connection is broken; it cannot be brought back. It leaves
and it draws with it all the component parts of the etheric body.
That is the reason the physical body cannot last long without
some artificial help, as embalming. Left to itself it collapses.
It disintegrates; disintegrates,’ he says, ‘because the etheric
part has been the material part.’ He says, ‘I must use the word
material—it has been the material and essential part of the
physical body.

“*The etheric body dwells in the fluids of the physical body.
You understand? It dwells in the water—the fluids of the body
partly, and partly it lies outside. That causes—causes—causes
that causes the phenomena we hear of as the aura. The etheric
body, that which is within the physical partly—it cannot be
entirely in, but is a little outside the physical, may reach two or
three inches outside—causes this emanation which is perceptible
to clairvoyants and is called the aura or the auric emanation. At
death we know there is no aura...’

“* ‘The Materialist says that because a man’s physical brain is
destroyed there can be no future life because he has got nothing
to work upon. He ignores, because he hasn’t proved its existence,
the etheric brain. He hasn’t located it, therefore he ignores it!’
He says, ‘We always ignore that which we haven’t yet located, but
it is there, and we must locate it.’ ”

According to Professor Brown’s account, the ghost of William
Archer said much more on this particular subject at the time.

45

PART TWO

BELIEVED HIMSELF DEAD, FEARED SHOCKING WIFE

When Dr. O. A. Ostby was 22, he entered a theological sem-
inary from which he graduated in due course and was ordained
into the ministery. Serving ten years as a divine he finally sev-
ered all connection with the church and has since that time been
an ardent student of psychical research.

A writer and lecturer, Dr. Ostby is known to many for his
book, An Awakening to the Universe. He has both experienced
and experimented with the phenomenon of the projection of the
astral body, and has detailed many of his adventures to this
writer.

““.. The first experience of being out-of-my-body came quite
unexpected,” he stated, “and occurred in 1904 at my home
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I awoke one night in full clear con-
sciousness and found myself standing in front of the bed looking
at my own physical body lying beside my wife and baby boy
who is now 28 years of age.

“T knew at once that I, my real self, was outside of my body and
that I had passed through what is called death. To my con-
sciousness there was no difference in my makeup from being in
the body.

“T thought I had died, but that made no difference to me as I
was perfectly happy and in fact had a strong desire to remain in
this new state of freedom. But just then the thought struck me
that it would be a dreadful shock for my wife to awaken in the
morning and find my lifeless form beside her, so I determined
that I must try to reanimate my physical form again.

“At that moment I felt a power of will take possession of me
like steam in a boiler wanting to burst from its confinement.
When this power reached a certain degree, I noticed the spiritual
myself was lifted right off the floor, laid horizontally in space,

49

and pushed slowly, inch by inch, into the physical again.

“TI could tell when my heart started to beat again and the blood
circulate through my veins. Especially peculiar was the feeling
when I observed the mind start to function through the material
brain again... Not long after that I acquired the ability to go in
and out at will, with no break in consciousness at all...”

When Dr. Ostby related the foregoing to me in December 1929,
he had not read my instructions, published in The Projection of
the Astral Body, for accomplishing this seeming miracle at will.
Since doing so he has stated that his method was precisely. that
which I termed Dynamization of Projection, in the book.

** ,.. I could lie on my couch,” he goes on to say, “and my
astral body would go out without ever being conscious of the
separation. I would think it was my physical self until I would
discover that still on the couch. Often I have lain down on the
bench at my office and jumped off into the astral, turned and
looked at my physical self still on the bench.

“Then I would go to the window, see the traffic in the street,
hear people talk, pass through matter, see persons near and far
away, go downstairs the back way, through the building, up the
front way, and enter my body again.

“While out one time I wanted to know what time it was and
looked at my watch. It was queer that I could see only the rim of
the watch and it was impossible to see the dial and hands, try as
Iwould...”

“On another occasion I was very anxious to see a certain man.
I had never seen him in my life nor any photos of him, and
according to my conscious knowledge he lived in Chicago, IIl-
inois, where I had his late address. When I left my body a
peculiar thing happened. I knew instinctively and instantly that
the person I desired to see was now living in California and not
Chicago. Where did that super-conscious knowledge come from?

“I had no consciousness of intervening space but found myself
in California, found his new bungalow, noted the street corner,
went inside, had a good look at the man, learned he was a dope

50

fiend, etc. Later I investigated the matter physically, secured
photos both of the man and the bungalow, and found everything
to be exactly as I had seen them with my spiritual eyes while out

of my body. I also learned later on that the map~cealliywas a
dope addict.” ace

To those who would proclaim his statements to be nonsensical,
Dr. Ostby simply replies: “Laugh, if you care to—laughing is
good for the health.”

To those who would have it that his experiences were only

vivid dreams, he says: “Then our whole conscious life is a
mere vivid dream, or a succession of dreams, and nothing more.”

FLOATS HORIZONTALLY IN AIR

A communication dated Dec. 17, 1930, from Mr. H—, of
Bournemouth, Eng. serves admirably to show that persons can
be perfect strangers and reside in entirely different parts of the
world, yet implicitly agree upon points regarding this most un-
believable and rare phenomenon. That fact alone is food for
thought. The illustrations spoken of by Mr. H—, were those
contained in my book The Projection of the Astral Body, show-
ing the route taken by the phantom on exteriorizing; that is, the
phantom rising out of the physical, resting horizontally in the
air above it, then floating outward, etc. Mr. H—, says:

“T had a bit of a shock today. I was in Boot’s Bournemouth,
changing my book at their library, when I happened to pick up
a copy of your book. I opened it—and, what a shock! It was
those illustrations. They astonished me! I could only say to
myself: ‘That is I—That is I.’

“When I was about twenty years old I began to have an almost
nightly experience of my body coming out of my body, and go-
ing sometimes on long trips. The trips were usually delightful.
I have always kept those experiences mostly to myself. I won’t go
into details here, though I can do so if you ask it.

‘My trips continued for many years and I could, and did make
myself float in the air at will. The floating was exactly as you

ol

have pictured it. I would always begin lying horizontally over
my body, float outward, then assume an upright position ... The
experiences became more rare and now I very seldom have one.
I have not read your book, not even the Preface, it was the
amazement—the actual shock—of seeing those marvellously
accurate illustrations which prompted this letter.”

AWAKENS IN A STRANGE HOUSE

Hundreds can vouch for the trustworthy character of Dr.
Kraft. He is a gentleman of honor and repute, world traveler,
Doctor of Medicine, and has been a public official in Milwaukee,
one of the larger cities of the United States. Dr. Kraft gave me
this account orally at his office in the summer of 1929.

He awoke one night to find himself standing in a house which
was some distance from his own. He wondered how he came to
be there and was astonished to discover that he was garbed in
his night suit. His feet were bare. Naturally he was not a little
embarrassed, for he thought he was physically present.

“T recognized the house and was especially surprised to find
that I could see right through its walls and across the street . . .
While I saw no one I heard a voice tell me that the owner of the
place was at that particular time on the Pacific coast.”

He began to examine himeelf, realizing that there was certainly
something wrong with him; but could find nothing, his body
seemed quite natural and substantial, and, “it was not until I
passed right through the closed door of the room that I really
knew that this was not my physical body.”

When this thought came to him, the next was that he was dead
and while he felt indescribably vigorous and free he was sorry
in his mind to think that his wife would find his lifeless body.
Immediately then, he found himself moving toward his own
home.

“As I did so, I passed through an apartment house and saw
the janitor in the cellar. He was yawning!”

92

The Doctor stated that when he entered his own home he saw
his wife sitting up in bed, and stood watching her. An interval
later he entered his physical body with a jump.

“By inquiring into the things I experienced I found them to be
correct. I was more than surprised when I found out that the
man in whose house I first found myself really was on the
Pacific coast.”

PROJECTS WHILE WRITING

To Adele Wellman, Secretary of the American Society for
Psychical Research, I am grateful, for locating for me a com-
paratively little known experience of the Reverand W. Stainton
Moses. The incident was published in the S. P. R. Proceedings,
Vol. XI—1895 although it actually took place on Sunday morn-
ing, January 25th, 1874. Moses says:

“*,.. I was sitting at my table in Clifton Road, time 1 p. m. or
thereabouts. I had breakfasted late, about 10.30, and had been
writing since breakfast . . . 1 have no remembrance of ceasing to
write. The first thing that I remember was standing beside my
body and looking at it. I did not feel surprised, but only curious
to know how I got there. My spirit body seemed to be disengaged
and to be leading an independent existence.

“‘While I was looking I was conscious of the presence of the
Prophet, who stood beside me. He was robed in sapphire blue,
and on his head was a coronet with a very bright star in the
middle over the brow. The face was what I have seen before—
the face of an old man with a long beard and a moustache, deep-
set eyes and large massive brow.

““He explained to me that I was out-of-the-body, and told me to
follow him. I remember well the oddity of my sensation when I
discovered that the wall of the room was no bar to me. We passed
on our way without obstacle until I found that we were in the
midst of a very beautiful landscape. How we got there I do not
know, but I seemed to have changed almost instantaneously the
surroundings of earth for the scenery of the spheres.

53

_“A special effort, I imagine, of my guide enabled me to see my
body, and after I had resumed spirit vision to the exclusion of
bodily vision. The scenery through which I passed was like an
earthly landscape, but the air was more translucent, the water
more clear and sparkling, the trees greener and more luxuriant.

“I went along without conversation, and noted the ease with
which my will carried me along with a peculiar gliding motion.
At the end of my journey we came to a simple cottage, very like
many I have seen here, and there I found my Grandmother Stain-
ton. She was just as I had remembered her, only clothed in’a
long pure robe, with a girdle of deep red. Her hair was bound
with a simple fillet, and her whole face and figure were idealized
and glorified.

“She attempted to address me, but my guide motioned me
away and hurried me back. From this point my memory grows
fainter and fainter and I recall no more until I found myself
sitting in my chair, the pen on the table by my side, and the
paper on which I had been writing before me. The ink was
very dry, and I was for a time only partially conscious of what
I had seen. It all came back by degrees.

“Now at night it is conceivable that I might be drowsy or
sleepy, though I know I was not on the occasion ... This was
midday. I certainly did not go to sleep. I had had breakfast
and nothing else two hours ago, and the vision was apropos of
nothing that was in my thoughts. It was stated by communicat-
ing spirits that the occurrence was real, and that my oblivion of
the latter part was caused by the necessity of hurrying me back,
as the conditions were not good.”

VISITS SCENE OF HER HUSBAND’S BOYHOOD

In a lecture at Sydney, before the Australian Society for
Psychic Research, published in The Harbinger of Light of April,
1, 1932, Mrs. Lionel Hall spoke in part on astral body phenom-
enon during sleep and told of her first conscious out-of-the-body
trip.

54

“I would now like to give my first experience of a projection
m a conscious state,” said Mrs. Hall. “I have had very many
dream flights into the beyond but naturally the most interesting
are those that occur when one is awake to all that is passing.

“My first experience of this condition occurred some years ago,
when I was told by other means that I could ‘See.’ After a pre-
liminary hesitation I foun? myself in the air and looking down
upon the harbour beneath me. Different vessels were shown to
me and other incidents which were verified next day.

“After looking down on the water and on the city, I next found
myself moving through the cloud layer, in fact I was completely
surrounded by cloud, but finally emerged on the other side in
what seemed to be interminable space and unending brightness.
Not sunlight that comes in beams, but corpuscular light ghat is
pure white, composed of dots and throws no shadow. =

“The feeling in this zone is one of complete tranquility an
harmony. Traveling on I then entered into what I may describe
as a most beautiful country garden, the wonderful condition of
which can scarcely be imagined by anyone who is only familiar
with the earth plane. Here, for the first time I met my husband’s
brother who had passed over some fifteen years previously. He
came to meet me and explained that we were on the third sphere.

“‘He told me that he was now going to show me places where
both he and my husband spent their boyhood, just, as he said, to
prove his identity. Many things were shown to me and boyish
pranks detailed.

“In recounting these to Mr. Hall next day we found that while
some of them were remembered, others had been practically
forgotten, and only brought to memory by this episode. One
incident is worthy of special mention. A man by the name of
Mitchell, who was clean shaven when the boys were in the
district together, was shown to me with a beard.

““Of course Mr. Hall thought that there had been some mistake,
but some four months later, when visiting the district, we stopped
on the roadside near some houses, and to Mr. Hall’s astonishment

55

this man came out, and he certainly had a large black beard.”
PROJECTS TO MISSING DEAD MAN

To thousands of people, Arthur P. Roberts needs no intro-
duction. Called by many, “The Psychic Detective,” during his
life he has had an uncanny ability for locating lost persons and
objects. He was born in Denbigh, Wales, and newspapers of his
native land referred to him as “The Great Welsh Prophet.’ He
came to America long ago, lived for some time at Fox Lake, later
moving to Milwaukee, his present home.

While quite illiterate, Mr. Roberts has solved problems which
have baffled most ingenious minds; in fact I do not exaggerate
when I say that a large volume would be required to hold the
accounts of them all. The Police Departments in numerous
cities of the Middlewest contain many records of mysteries which
Roberts has solved. He makes no secret of the fact that his extra-
ordinary talent is purely mediumistic and that his feats are
-accomplished by clairvoyance, clairaudience, and astral body
projection. Here is an interesting case:

Some years ago a man named Duncan McGregor of Peshtigo,
Wisconsin, disappeared and although police and detectives
scoured the country and several large rewards were offered for
information concerning his whereabouts, no clues were forth-
coming. A few weeks later, Mrs. McGregor, in company with two
lady friends consulted Mr. Roberts. He explained to them that
they must be absolutely quiet, disconnected the electric door-
bell, locked the door, then reclined on a couch in a partially
darkened room and concentrated on the problem before him.

So much by way of explanation. I now quote Mr. Roberts:
“As near as I can explain it, I tried to forget everything in the
universe, except Duncan McGregor and his fate. I said to my-
self, ‘I have a difficult task before me and I want you to do all
you can to assist me’.

“This may sound weird to some, but there was a feeling as if

56

I poasessed two distinct individualities and as if one appealed to
the other for help. I cannot explain it; I can only describe my
sensations. Gradually there came a drowsiness, almost identical
with that sensation known as going to sleep—possibly more like
being hypnotized.

“As I lay there with every faculty centered on Duncan
McGregor—where he was or what had happened to him—I
passed into a profound slumber . . . Then I awoke, not as one
does when aroused from sleep, but rather as if my senses were
slightly numbed.

“My first sensation was of light—a dim, indistinct white light
which was not like daylight, nor like any other light I ever saw.
It seemed to come from no particular point, and was peculiarly
white. It was not strong and made everything seem indistinct.
I did not try to take note of any surroundings—only the
peculiar light.

“By degrees my perception became more and more open to
the fact that I was moving with an even gliding motion, akin to
floating. This was without any conscious effort on my part. Then
the scene changed and I was in a large room in which were a
number of men. It was evident it was night time and instinc-
tively I knew that one of the men present was Duncan McGregor.

“Although I could see the room and everything in it, I did not
know where I was. In fact, the thought that I was in the room no
more entered my mind than it does the mind of a person in nor-
mal condition when he looks at a picture. It was like a picture,
except that the individuals talked and moved.

“From the moment I saw McGregor my faculties became keen,
the strange numbness passing away. All my senses seemed
concentrated on him and his companions, so that but indistinct
note was made of other things. I had sent my astral self to see
certain things and it seemed that nothing extraneous could now
be considered.

“Step by step I accompanied Duncan McGregor to his death
that night. When we left the place where I first found him it was

57

dark, yet I could see as plainly as if it were daylight. There was
the ordinary gloom of night, yet that mysterious white light was
present. This existence of darkness and light simultaneously is
most puzzling. I cannot explain it. It has no parallel in the
ordinary world and therefore it is difficult to describe or to
understand.

*,.. 1 cannot make public the way in which Duncan McGregor
met his death. There are facts regarding it I learned while out of
my body, which, if capable of legal proof would result in crim-
inal action being placed against certain individuals. Such
testimony as I could give would not be admitted as evidence in
court ... and further it would be revealing affairs of a private
nature pertaining to Mrs. McGregor. At the same time I wit-
nessed the scene of Duncan McGregor’s death, just as it actually
happened more than a month before.

“After witnessing his death, there was a shift of scenes, similar
to the change of slides in a stereopticon. I was floating in my
ghost body above a river with trees on the bank. An unknown
power seemed to direct me to a certain spot on the fiver. It was
a locality I had never visited in the flesh. My control halted
me over the water, just opposite a cluster of three trees, and
looking down I could see the body of the man I had followed to
his death.

“The water was no obstacle to my vision. | felt that I must go
down through the water and touch the body and as that thought
came to me I felt myself sink into the river and the chill of the
water struck me so that I shuddered with the cold.

“Down to where the water-soaked form lay I went, and ac-
tually seemed to touch it. It was caught under some logs and
driftwood, and I realized that was the reason it did not rise to
the surface...

“] had finished my task and there was an interval of uncon-
sciousness. When I awoke physically it was nearly 6 o'clock
and I had been in trance for about four hours and was weak and
exhausted. Mrs. McGregor was still waiting and as gently as I

38

could I informed her that her husband was not alive.”

Mr. Roberts advised the widow to withdraw her reward of
$1,000 which she had offered for information concerning her
husband and assured her that his body would soon be found. He
described the spot where, while out of his body, he had located
the cadaver; a place perfectly unfamiliar to himself, but from
his description, Mrs. McGregor recognized the locality as being
on the Menomonee River, a spot she had often seen. And as
everyone who read of the case in the newspapers at the time will
recall, the body of Duncan McGregor was found in the Menom-
onee River at the precise place designated by A. P. Roberts.

A MOTHER PROJECTS, FINDS HER BABY WELL

In Schlaf und Tod, Vol. 2, Franz Splittgerber has written of a
minister’s wife who had an unusual experience out-of-the-body.
I pass on the case as best I can, having to translate it from
the German.

Reverand W—, and his wife went for a trip, leaving their
baby at home in care of the minister’s sister. On the first night
of the trip, the wife had the experience of her spirit leaving her
body and floating about in the air. She tells of floating all the
way back to her home.

Entering the house, she went to the bedroom, found the cradle,
and stood before it. Then she bent down, blessed her baby and
repeated a verse from the bible. Having done this she looked up
and saw that her sister-in-law was in the room. The sister-in-law
also observed Mrs. W—, there in her phantom and on doing so
uttered a loud scream.

The scream, according to Mrs. W—, caused her to fly back
through the air to her physical body where she awoke, fully con-
vinced of her astral experience and entirely satisfied that all was
well with her baby at home.

Sometime later, when the Reverand W—, and his wife re-
turned home from their trip, his sister actually corroborated his

59

wite’s statements concerning her out-of-the-body experience. She
(the Reverand’s sister) told of seeing the phantom of Mrs.W—,
standing at the cradle, blessing the baby, uttering the bible
verse, etc., on the same night when Mrs. W—, claimed to have
done so!

NAVAL CAPTAIN PROJECTS TO WIFE

Captain Sumner E. W. Kittelle tells of leaving his body in a re-
port dated January 19, 1913 and published in, Life and Action:

“In April I was for about a month Captain of the gunboat
Marietta and was lying alongside the dock in Brooklyn, N. Y.
My wife remained at the house in the Navy yard at Boston. One
night I returned to the ship, from the city, at about eleven o’clock,
went to the cabin and in due time retired to my stateroom and
went to sleep in my bunk.

“During sleep J was conscious that I left my physical body
and traveled with seeming great speed over, but some distance
above the ground, to Boston, where I sought my own room and
took my accustomed place in bed.

“Here after a while I was conscious that my wife had placed
her hand upon my shoulder, and I made a strong effort to turn
over and respond to her touch. This effort seemed to cause me
to leave the bed and room and return over the same route to
New York, at the same speed, and thereupon I reoccupied my
bunk on board ship and awoke.

“At once it occurred to me that this must be an experience, so
I reached out and switched on the electric light and noted the
exact time. The next day I wrote to my wife and, without telling
her anything about my experience, I asked her if she had noticed
anything during the night in question.

“Her reply was that she had strongly felt that I was in bed and
had reached out and touched me on the shoulder! So real did it
seem to her that she sat up to investigate, and finding nothing,
thought, nevertheless, that she would make note of the time,
which she did, and the two times, hers and mine, were identical!”

60

PHYSICIAN WATCHES HIMSELF EXTERIORIZE

The case of Dr. Wilste, of Skiddy, Kansas, is quite well known
to older researchers. It was first printed in the St. Louis, Medical
and Surgical Journal, November, 1889, later in Vol. VIII of the
S. P. R. Proceedings and in Myer’s, Human Personality and its
Survival. However, many newcomers into the occult field have
never read of this remarkable example of exteriorization of the
astral double.

Dr. Wilste, who had been suffering from an unusual disease,
felt himself gradually sinking, bade adieu to his friends and
family and finally sank into unconsciousness. Those near him
presumed he was dead. The village churchbell was tolled. In a
short time he recovered consciousness again, “but,” he says,
“the body and I no longer had any interest in common.

“I looked in astonishment and joy for the first time upon
myself, the me, the real Ego, while the not me closed in upon all
sides like a sepulchre of clay. With all of the interest of a
physician, I beheld the wonders of my bodily anatomy, inti-
mately interwoven with which, even tissue for tissue, was I, the
living soul of the dead body.”

The Doctor heard and felt “the snapping of innumerable
cords,” then slowly he began to retreat from the feet toward the
head, as a rubber cord shortens. Reaching the hips he remem-
bered telling himself that there was no life below his hips and
discovered that his whole self had collected into the head from
which he finally emerged.

“I floated up and down and laterally, like a soap-bubble
attached to the bowl of a pipe, until I at last broke free from the
body and fell-lightly on the floor, where I slowly rose and ex-
panded to the full stature of a man.

“* ,,. I seemed to be translucent, of a bluish cast and perfectly
naked. With a painful sense of embarrassment I fled toward the
partially opened door to escape the eyes of the two ladies whom
I was facing, as well as the others . . . but on reaching the door I

61

found myself clothed, and, satisfied on that point, I turned
and faced the company.”

Next Dr. Wilste tells how he saw two men standing in the
doorway and one of them passed his arm directly through Dr.
Wilste’s spiritual body, “without apparent resistance, and the
severed parts closed again without pain, as air re-unites.”

Dr. Wilste looked at the man’s face to see if he had noticed
the contact, but the man only stood and gazed toward the couch.

“I directed my eyes toward the couch also and saw my own
dead body. It was lying just as I had taken so much pains to
place it, partially on the right side, the feet close together, and
the hands clasped across my breast. I was surprised at the
paleness of the face.”

From the eyes of this astral body, Dr. Wilste saw two women
kneeling and weeping. He did not recognize them but neverthe-
less attempted to gain their attention with the object of com-
forting them as well as assuring them of their own immortality.

“TI bowed to them playfully and saluted with my right hand.
I passed about among them also but found they gave me no heed.
Then the situation struck me as humorous and [ laughed out-
right. They certainly must have heard that, I thought, but it
seemed otherwise, for not one lifted their eyes from my body.

“*.. . They see only with the eyes of the body,” he concluded,
“they cannot see spirits. They are watching what they think
is I, but they are mistaken. That is not I. This is I and I am as
much alive as ever. I turned and passed out of the room... I
never saw the street more distinctly than I saw it then. I took
note of the redness of the soil and of the washes the rain
had made.”

Looking back through the door, Dr. Wilste saw, “a small
cord, like a spider’s web, running from my shoulders back to my
body and attaching to it at the base of the front of the neck. I
was satisfied with the conclusion that by means of that cord
I was using the eyes of my body, and, turning, walked down
the street.”

62

The Doctor then relates at great length the things he encount-
ered while out-of-his-body, at such length, indeed, that I dare not
take the space to reproduce them here but refer the reader to the
original account for the complete story.

Walking up a road, facing north, he found that his “memory,
judgment, and imagination, the three great faculties of the mind,
were intact and active.”

He heard an entity speaking to him in a language which,
though English, “was so eminently above my power to reproduce
that my rendition of it is as far short of the original as any trans-
lation of a dead language is weaker than the original.”

At a certain place in the road which the Doctor described as
marking the boundary between the two worlds, his astral trip
came to an end.

“©... A small dense black cloud appeared in front of me and
advanced toward my face. I knew that I was to be stop/ped. I felt
the power to move or to think leaving me. My hands fell power-
less to my sides, my shoulders and head dropped forward, the
cloud touched my face and I knew no more...”

When he regained consciousness he was back in his physical
body again on the little white cot at his home and exclaimed in
great astonishment: “Must I die again!”

Many things which Dr. Wilste saw during the interval he was
thought to be dead—the two gentlemen standing in the doorway;
his wife and sister kneeling and weeping; the washes made by
the rain—were, after his return to physical life, verified as cor-
rect. The corroborative statements of those who were present
are recorded in the S. P. R. Proceedings, by Dr. Hodgson.

GOES PROSPECTING IN THE ASTRAL BODY

In a letter dated Feb. 1, 1931, Mr. F. P. Bell, a prospector,
formerly of Olympia, Wash. but now living in Los Angeles, Cal.
states that for a time he followed some of this writer’s projection
instructions with the hope of projecting his astral body volun-

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tarily. He was fairly successful in producing repercussions and
aviation type dreams, details of which he elaborates upon in his
letter, then goes on to say:

“It was hard for me to hold projection in my mind on going
to bed, for it kept me busy thinking all day long and part of the
night on the best way to save the timber . . . But finally one night
came when I had a dream that I was riding in a car over logs,
but it was not jolting me. That started me to reasoning, in the
dream, just why I was not being jolted, which must have been
the cause of my conscious mind starting to function ...”

“For then I became conscious! I was in my astral body. The
first thought that came to me was, now that I am out, I can go
where I please. That thought was uppermost in my mind at all
times, and at that moment I was elevated to about fifty feet in the
air and travelled at about the same speed up through the canyon.

“As I moved through the air it suddenly entered my mind that
it would do me no good to see a treasure of any kind unless I
could remember the road to it, and I was trying to get the land-
marks fixed in my mind when I was drawn back to my body.”

What a disappointment for Mr. Bell. Some, who did not have
the experience, may say: “This was but a prospector’s dream.”
But the man who did have the experience says: “I was out-of-my-
body and conscious.”

HAS TWO VIVID EXPERIENCES

I have repeatedly pointed out for many years (in this connect-
ion, refer back to: Doctrine of Astral Projection) that aviation-
like movements of the phantom are typical, if not essential, to
the phenomenon. Such phrases as walking on air, floating in
space, lying in the air, etc., are common descriptive phrases used
by those who have exteriorized. Notice how the two separate
experiences of M. L. Hymans (recorded by Richet) corroborate
and stress this point, and how similar it is in the descriptions
given out by many others. M. Hymans tells of being in a

64

dentist’s chair, having his teeth worked upon while under an
anesthetic :

“ ... Thad a sensation of walking and floating in the air in the
room; and to my great surprise I saw the dentist working over
my body and his assistant by his side. The scene was vivid. My
body was inert. After a few minutes I lost consciousness and
awoke in the dentist’s chair again, with a clear memory of what
I had seen...”

M. Hymans states that his next experience took place in a
London hotel. He was suffering with heart-weakness when he
awoke in the morning. In a short time he fainted and says: “To
my great surprise I found myself high up in the room from
where, to my terror, I saw my body in the bed, eyes closed. I
tried to re-enter my body, but without success and concluded
that I was dead. I could not leave the room and felt chained to
it, immobilized in the corner where I found myself.

“An hour or two after I heard knockings on the door .. . I
could not respond. A little Later the hotel porter climbed through
the fire escape to the balcony. I saw him enter the room and look
anxiously at my figure and then at the door. Soon the manager
and others entered and a physician came. I saw him shake his
head when he examined my heart. He introduced a spoon be-
tween my lips. I lost consciousness and awoke in bed. The ex-
perience lasted for at least two hours... ”

INDIAN GOES TO HAPPY HUNTING GROUND

Major C. Newell, in a book entitled, Indian Stories, has set
forth an account of spiritual body projection which was related
to him by White Thunder, a chief who ruled over a part of
Spotted Tail’s tribe. The story being of considerable length I
relate it here only in an abbreviated form.

White Thunder wrapped his buffalo robe around himeelf one
evening and fell asleep while his squaw was preparing supper.
He awoke to the consciousness that two of his own people wear-

65

ing robes of white—the sign of the Holy Lodge—were there and
asking him to follow them.

He called to his squaw to tell her that he would go with the
two in white and wondered why she did not answer him. His
body felt “as light as air” he explained, as he arose to go to her
and although he tried to tell her again she paid no attention.

Just then he saw that he was not in his body! His earthly form
was sleeping in the buffalo robes! On examination he con-
cluded that his earthly body was dead and that his new body was
his spirit. His squaw could not see nor hear him in his new form
and he wondered just what to do.

One of the men in white told him to come along with them and
later they would bring him back to live for “many winters” in
his material body. He went along. They told him that “the
spirit was the life of his former body.”

‘As we went on and on.” White Thunder related, “we lost
sight of the earth and in front of me I saw what looked like a
great shining river that seemed to extend far up into the sky.
I could not see the end of it but the guides said it led to the land
of the Great Spirit. All of the people that live on the earth and
are good will at last go away on the river . . . The banks of the
river were becoming lighter. Soon we approached the shore and
saw tepees of my people. Many whom I had known in earth
life came to meet me and I was overjoyed to be among my
old friends.”

On reaching a large wigwam, which White Thunder knew to be
that of a Great Spirit, he was told to go back to the earth and tell
his friends to treat all men as brothers and to be kind to those
who were sick and suffering.

“The guides showed me many strange places on the way back.
I saw spirits who were happy and many who were in sorrow. |
saw those that had been bad . . . suffering for the evil deeds they
had done. . . After a while we were back to earth and the guides
in white took me to the place where my people were camped.

“T saw that my wife was sitting beside my body crying and my

66

children were with her calling for their father. When I looked at
my flesh-body wrapped in skins, I dreaded to go back into it...
but the guides said I must. I seemed to fall asleep and when I
awoke I was back in my body again. I struggled to get free. My
wife cut the cords that bound me and | sat up. They cried for joy
to find I had come back again. I arose and had my old heavy
body, to carry again.”

White Thunder told Major Newell he had been out of his body
for “three sleeps” and in the meantime his squaw and children
had bound his supposed corpse with cords and taken it to the
Missouri River for burial.

PROJECTION DURING ANAESTHESIA

The experience of Mrs.—, of Penns Grove, N. J. is an inter-
esting case of projection while under anesthesia. She says:

“While in one of the largest hospitals in Pittsburgh, Pa., a few
years ago, I was obliged to undergo an operation. It was the
first time in my life I was ever given an anesthetic, and almost
immediately after I commenced to breathe in, as instructed, I was
overcome with a most perfect sensation of bodily comfort.

“To my surprise I found myself standing in company with
the doctors and nurses, and I certainly did notice every detail of
my surroundings—my physical body lying limp upon the table,
the instruments, bottles, and so forth, and especially the fact that
the cap on one of the nurses was out of place.

“Suddenly I looked up through the glass ceiling and beheld
my grandmother, who had passed away ten years before. She
came right over to me and took me by the hand and told me to
come with her quickly as there was but little time. We passed
through the glass ceiling of the room as easily as if it had been
merely a curtain of smoke.

“When outside in the sunshine, grandmother called my atten-
tion to many familiar objects. She even pointed out the roof
of my home, which I could distinctly see through the trees. I was

67

enjoying the wonderful experience very much when grand-
mother suddenly said: ‘It is now time for you to return.’

“Before I had time to object, I awoke on my bed in the hospital,
with the nurse bending over me. . . That is about all I can tell
you about my out-of-the-body experience, except that after
coming out of the ether, my body, especially my hands, seemed
very heavy. The occurrence was very pleasant, and if that is the
way one feels after so-called death, I, for one, will have no fear of
dying.”

A CASE RECORDED BY JUNG STILLING

The eminent German Pietist, Johann Heinrich Stilling (known
as Jung Stilling; see Lebensgeschichte) who was a renown au-
thor and physician, has reported a most remarkable case of
intentional projection made by a Philadelphia man. According
to the account the Philadelphian was well known and respected,
although he had a reputation of possessing mediumistic powers.

On the occasion in question he was visited by the wife of 4 sea
Captain. The woman was in sorrow. Her husband had gone on
a voyage to Africa and Europe and had not returned. There had
been no tidings from his vessel which was long overdue.

Hearing the tale of the anxious wife the medium left her and
entered the adjoining room, where he reclined upon his couch
and apparently went to sleep. She waited for a long time and
became greatly alarmed as the moments passed, for the medium
was beginning to show many signs of death.

After a while, however, he awakened. He informed the
nervous woman that he had made a voyage in his astral body
and had actually visited with her husband in a coffee-house in
London. He also told her the reasons, which her husband had
given him, for his not having written, adding that he would soon
return to Philadelphia.

When the sea Captain finally did return his wife questioned
him regarding the matter and he corroborated all of the state-

68

ments of the projector. On being taken into the presence of the
medium the husband uttered an exclamation of surprise, saying
that he had seen the identical man in the London coffee-house,
and that it was the same strange man who had told him how his
wife was worrying about him. He further told how he had
answered the man and given him the reasons for his failure to
return and neglect of writing, and said that after doing so he
suddenly lost sight of the stranger entirely.

An unbelievable account indeed! One can scarcely blame the
average person if he refuses to believe such, even if recorded by
‘Jung Stilling.

METHODIST LADY PROJECTS, BECOMES MEDIUM

In an article, How I Discovered My Mediumship, published
in The Spiritual Pathfinder, Myrtle E. Larson, Pastor of the
Temple of Spiritual Truth, Granite City, Illinois, tells a note-
worthy experience. Needless to say I have Mrs. Larson’s per-
mission to relate the story here, which was given me shortly after
she returned from an interesting series of sittings before the New
York section of the American Society for Psychic Research.

At the time of the occurrence—December 31, 1919, Mre.
Larson was of the orthodox Methodist faith. In the evening her
three year old child, who had been ill, developed a serious fever.
Mrs. Larson went to his bed, placed her hand upon his head,
closed her eyes, and prayed that the fever would subside.

“After a few moments I felt very strange. I was sure this was
the power of God touching me and with every confidence I gave
up to the influence. Still with my eyes closed, I felt a floating
sensation and soon was met by a seemingly real person appear-
ing to be a little Indian maiden, dressed in Indian robes and
arrayed in beads.

“Two beautiful black shiny braids of hair were hanging over
her shoulders. She reached her hand for me . I stepped forward
and was taken for a long journey which I later learned was an

69

astral flight. Words of earth are inadequate to describe the ex-
perience of this journey which was all too short. My hostess
spoke, saying: ‘You will know me hereafter as Sunflower, an
Indian maid who lived on earth 80 years ago. I have many
things to tell you as time goes on. I came to this plane at the age
of sixteen. I shall never leave you . . . You must return now for
you have been away a long time. The baby is well. Ill talk to
you again very soon’.

“Slowly I regained consciousness . . . My hand was still on the
head of my little son who was now without fever. Two hours
had elapsed ... No doubt there are those who would feel that
such an experience would cause alarm or frighten one; but on
the contrary it seemed very natural and not at all strange. In
addition it brought an understanding and peacefulness never
before experienced. All life took on a greater aspect and I
seemed to have found myself—a new heaven and a new earth

had dawned...”
VISITS HER COUSIN’S FUTURE HOME

Mrs. Lenora S. Brewster who lives in a small town in the state
of New Hampshire has had many out-of-the-body experiences,
most of which have been of the involuntary type, preceded by
a numbness of the body and commencing in the half-awake state,
usually in the early hours of morning.

When exteriorization is about to take place, Mrs. Brewster
explains that she feels as if being caught up in a powerful current
of force, and for a short interval there is a snapping pain in her
head, which soon passes off, and is replaced by a sensation of
delightful lightness.

According to her testimony, Mrs. Brewster has never been able
to consciously direct her projected astral body, but has simply
sailed along wherever carried, being in distress all the while
with a painful tightness at the throat, which becomes so unbear-
able that she is forced to return to the physical body again.

70

In all her conscious astral excursions she has found herself
amid the physical objects of the world of matter, and only once
did she ever encounter a disembodied spirit—that of her hus-
band’s sister, “in all her natural coloring of earthly life.” And
while she has never been able to see her physical body while
projected from it, she could see her husband very clearly as he
lay asleep.

Mrs. Brewster, on one occasion, found herself projected and
standing in the parlor of a strange and palatial house, where
she took particular notice of the furnishings, and “from the
parlor I soared up a great stairway and down a hall into a room
where lay an old lady. I approached the bed with some hesitation,
although 1 felt sure of being invisible. Suddenly she awakened,
and acted as if she could see me, for she sat up on her elbow and
looked straight at me.

“TI was much embarrassed at being there in a strange house
like a thief. She no doubt thought me a ghost of the dead .. . I
began to retreat, going over, instead of around the stair-railing,
and down—down—down, with an accompanying sinking feeling
at the pit of my stomach. Then there was a “zinging” in my
ears, and in a moment I was sitting up breathless in my physical
body and in my own bed...”

What subsequently took place is the most interesting part of
Mrs. Brewster’s adventure. Two years later she went to Concord
—a distance of forty miles from the town in which she lived—to
visit her cousin. The latter lived in a house which had recently
been purchased, furnishings and all, from the estate of an elderly
lady, Miss M—, who had died some time before.

It was the first time she had ever visited the place physically,
and Mrs. Brewster goes on to say: “... A maid ushered me into
the same parlor in which I stood that night in my astral body!
Looking about I knew I had seen the place before but could not
quite remember until I stepped into the hall, when my cousin
came down the stairs to welcome me. I had found the place
of my astral adventure!

71

Mrs. Brewster, on this visit to her cousin, also learned that
the little old lady, whose bedroom she had haunted in her astral
body two years before, was Miss M—, the late owner and occu-
pant of the place. An interesting conjecture is suggested in the
idea that Mrs. Brewster’s phantom body, appearing in Miss
M—’s, sleeping chamber may have been to the latter a harbinger
of death; for Miss M— died shortly afterward. But, be that as
it may.

“Having looked the house over many times since,” continues
Mrs. Brewster, “I find the room in which the old lady slept to be
in the opposite direction from which it seemed to me that night
... It was as if I had been looking at it in a mirror when in my
astral body...”

Mrs. Brewster takes oath that her story is true, and has given
me the names of all parties involved. There was even a far more
significant aftermath than has here been related, but of too per-
sonal a nature for inclusion.

MINISTER FLOATS ABOVE HIS FREEZING BODY

A comparatively well known case of the inner self exterior-
izing from its physical counterpart is that of the Rev. L. J. Ber-
trand, a Huguenot minister, who gave Dr. Hodgson an oral, and
Prof. William James, a written account of his unique experience.

Rev. Bertrand with an old guide and a group of students
commenced a dangerous ascent of the Titlis, going straight up-
ward, instead of by the long Truebsee Alp trail.

On reaching a high altitude, Rev. Bertrand, who was a little
weary from the climb, stopped, and, since he had been on the
summit many times before, decided to stay where he was. The
remainder of the party could go on, under the conditions that
the guide take them up by the left and come down by the right,
and that W—, the strongest of the students would keep his place
at the rear end of the rope.

Promising to carry out the instructions given them, the party

72:

went on their way, leaving Rev. Bertrand who sat down to rest,
his lower limbs dangling over a dangerous precipice. Eventually
the Rev. put a cigar in his mouth; but as he attempted to light it,
a strange feeling came over him. Although the match burned his
fingers he could not throw it down! He was freezing to death!

“This is the sleep of the snows,” he said to himself. “If I move
Pll roll down into the abyss! If I do not I’ll be a dead man in
thirty minutes.”

He started praying, then relinguishing all hope for himself,
decided to study the process of freezing to death. His hands and
feet became frozen first, finally his head became unbearably
cold and he passed out of his physical body.

ee Well, thought I, at last I am what they call a dead man,
and here I am — a ball of air in the air, a captive balloon still
attached to earth by a kind of elastic string and going up,
always up.”

On seeing and recognizing his inert physical body below
him, “my own envelope,” as he called it, he said:

“There is the corpse in which I lived and which I called me
— as if the coat were the body, as if the body were the soul —
deadly pale, with a yellowish-blue color, holding a cigar in its
mouth and a match in its two burned fingers. Well, I hope that
you shall never smoke again, dirty rag ... If I only had a hand
and scissors to cut the thread which ties me still to it.

“When my companions return they will look at that and
exclaim, ‘the Professor is dead.’ Poor friends. They do not
know that I never was as alive as I now am...”

At this point in his experience, the Rev. Bertrand’s spiritual
sight began to function; that is, he was clairvoyant, from the
eyes of his spiritual body.

“T see the guide going up by the right, when he promised
me to go up by the left. W , was to be the last, and he is
neither first nor last, but alone, away from the rope.

“Now the guide thinks that I do not see him, because he
hides himself behind the young man whilst drinking from my

73

bottle of Madeira. Well, go on, poor man, I hope that my body
will never drink of it again. Ah! there he is stealing my leg
of chicken. Go on, old fellow, eat the whole chicken if you
choose, for I hope my miserable corpse will never eat or
drink again.”

Rev. Bertrand rose higher and higher in his astral body, or
“bubble” as he expressed it and clairvoyantly saw his wife,
who was not to arrive until next day, and four other people
in a carriage on their way to Lucerne and stopping at the hotel
of Lungren; but felt neither joy nor sorrow, and could not be
happy because “the thread, though thinner than ever, was
not cut.”

His astral ascension suddenly turned to a descension and he
felt a shock and as if someone were pulling the balloon down-
ward, as the guide who had returned, rubbed his stiff physical
body with snow.

“When I reached my body again I had a last hope — the
balloon seemed much too big for the mouth. Suddenly I uttered
an awful roar, like a wild beast; the corpse swallowed the bal-
loon, and Bertrand was Bertrand again.”

The guide assured Rev. Bertrand that he had almost frozen
to death, to which the latter replied:

‘I was less dead than you are now, and the proof is that I
saw you going up the Titlis by the right, whilst you promised
me you would go by the left. Now show me my bottle of Madeira
and we will see if it is full.”

The guide, astonished, knowing it would be physically im-
possible for his Captain to have seen through the mountain,
fell down and stammered.

“You may fall down and stare at me as much as you please,”
Rev. Bertrand added, “but you cannot prove that my chicken
has two legs, because you stole one of them.”

The good Reverand forgave his followers for their disobed-
ience and when they reached the inn, the guide told everyone
at the place that the Captain must surely be the devil himself.

74

Later, when the party arrived back in Lucerne, they found
Mrs. Bertrand already there.

“Were there five of you in the carriage and did you stop at
the Lungren Hotel?” inquired the Reverand.

“Yes!” replied his wife. “But who told you!”

OVER THE HOSPITAL BED
On August 13, 1930, Miss M. A. B. of Letchworth Hertford-

shire, wrote me, saying:

“I once had to undergo a slight operation, for which purpose
ether was administered, at a large hospital in Northern Eng-
land. I had recently lost a brother; and almost at once I had
the strong idea ‘this is what brother felt like when he died. I
won't die — I won't.

“T struggled violently, so that two nurses and the specialist
were unable to hold me, and were obliged to hurry for chloro-
form and try that .. . The next thing I knew there was some
piercing screaming going on, that I was up in the air and look-
ing down upon the bed over which the nurses and doctor
were bending.

“... What specially struck me, and remains particularly
vivid in my mind, was the white crosses on the nurses’ backs,
where the bands of their white uniforms crosses in the back.
I was aware that they were trying in vain to stop the screaming,
in fact I heard them say: ‘Miss B—, Miss B—, don’t scream
like this. You are frightening the other patients.’

“At the same time, I knew very well that I was quite apart
from my screaming body, that I could do nothing to stop. I
said to myself: ‘Those silly idiots, if they but had enough sense
to send for E——., a great friend of mine waiting below in the
hospital, I know she could stop it.’

“And just then the strangest thing happened. At my thought,
that was exactly what they did! One of the nurses rushed
downstairs and begged her to come up. She touched my phy-

75

sical body by the hand, spoke to me, and immediately the
acreaming ceased ...In a short time I was physically conscious
again...”

FINDS HER DOG IN ASTRAL WORLD

Of particular interest to animal lovers and those who wonder
if their pets survive death is this communication by Winifred
Hunt from the Occult Review of March 1930:

“... Early last June, my greatly loved fox terrior passed away
at the advanced age of sixteen years. Three days after the occur-
rence at about daybreak, as I lay in my bed awake, I suddenly
found myself outside of my body. All else was quite normal
— the room, the bed, my physical body lying upon it; yet I,
myself, was a thing apart, and in that brief moment of freedom
and liberation my emotions were difficult to analyze. I seemed
to be suspended between the floor and ceiling!

“I remember distinctly of looking down upon my physical
body—but my joy was complete when into my arms sprang my
little dog, young and full of life. He seemed to be overjoyed
at finding me and we clung together, I caressing him and actually
conscious of the smooth warm softness of his head and coat. Like
all who love animals and who have been honored by a dog’s
love and devotion, I knew intimately all his little ways. It
seemed natural to be out of my body and with my dog.

“Suddenly I felt a swift rushing Impulse, a descent like
lightning, and in a flash I realized that I was going back to my
physical body and that my dog could not accompany me.
Violent anger and resentment filled my whole being. I ment-
ally resisted and set my entire will power in opposition to the
force that would separate me from happiness. . . I came back
with a fearful jerk, and sitting up I actually heard my dog’s voice
close to me.

“I felt utterly exhausted... The comfort, the knowledge
that my dog lives and loves me, has brought into my life, is

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something that I am glad and thankful to hand on to all who
have loved and lost their pets.”

In this connection it is interesting to note that years ago
M. Ernest Bazzano collected 69 cases where dogs, cats, horses,
etc. were chief actors in diverse spirit manifestations.

EXPERIENCES OF GLADYS OSBORNE LEONARD

In a recent and most remarkable book, My Life in Two
Worlds (Cassell & Co., Ltd. London) the renowned medium,
Gladys Osborne Leonard, whom Sir Oliver Lodge has desig-
nated as one of the best he has ever known, tells of her first
experience in leaving the physical body. She was lying down
one day, when suddenly she had a feeling, described as pleas-
ant, that her body was not making actual contact with the bed.

“‘..- What happened I shall never forget; it was wonderful.
I did not move consciously in any way, either limb or muscle,
and my eyes were closed. I wondered how far my body might
be above the bed, and by a little mental effort I opened my
eyes and looked down and saw my physical body resting on
the bed, and I, in my astral body, seemed to be resting above it.

“To show you how clear my thoughts were, I noticed that
the head of my physical body was lying on a particular night-
dress case with an embroidered corner. I was surprised at
seeing it there, because I was not aware of its having been
changed that morning for the one I had been using.

“‘... The next thing I felt was that my astral body was getting
farther and farther away from my physical body, and I seemed
to be hovering over the edge of the bed for a few seconds. Then
I began to feel just a little nervous, and the thought flashed
across my mind; Shall I be able to get back easily? That ques-
tion and my slight fear drew me back about a foot toward my
physical body. But my interest got the better of my fear, and
I thought: Whatever happens, let me go through with it.

“The moment I so determined I became aware of my hus-

77

band opening our flat door, which makes a slight noise on
being opened, and speaking to someone in the hall outside.
He was speaking in a low voice so as not to disturb me. I
thought, I should like to go and see to whom he is speaking,
and I don’t know how it happened, but I found myself at once,
standing by my husband’s elbow at the flat door.

“I was not aware of passing through the bedroom door, which
is kept closed, but there I was... I saw the man he was talking
to was from the gas company. What they were talking about
I did not notice, because, just after I joined them (in my astral
body) a maid from one of the upstairs flats passed them, and
I saw my husband, without speaking to her, take a coin from
his pocket and hand it to her.”

Several further episodes in her experience followed and at
last Mrs. Leonard found herself lying just above her physical
form again, fearing she would not be able to re-enter it. She
goes on to say: ©

“My astral felt quivery, and the feeling came to me — there
is going to be difficulty about it. Then I told myself, there won’t
be any difficulty if you keep calm about it, you will slip back.
I thought that, or made myself think it. I seemed to slip lower
and lower, yet not thinking again so connectedly as before,
when suddenly I found I was resting on the bed again. I dug
my elbow into the bed and felt it solid, which made me realize
that I was back in the physical.”

The adventure being over, a check-up was made which re-
vealed that the incidents which she witnessed astrally — the
man from the gas company, the maid, the embroidered night-
gown case, etc., were correct.

At another time Mrs. Leonard claims to have made a trip
in her subtle body and visited with the spirit of a man who
had taken his own life. A few days later Sir Walter Gibbons
called upon her, looking very tired and exhausted.

“I asked him what was the matter. He replied, ‘I have had
an awful time on the astral plane during sleep. The night

78

before last I was taken to the plane where the suicides go, and
there I saw my old friend who killed himself the previous day
because he had got so terribly into debt and financial trouble.’

‘‘Wait a minute, I said, I think I have been there too; wait
till I describe it to you. I did so, and alternately Sir Walter
and I described details of the place to each other, until we were
certain we actually had been to the same place, and seen the
same man.”

GOES DOWNSTAIRS IN GHOST BODY

Several accounts were given me by an educated lady of
Glouchester, England, an artist and F.R.H.S. Miss P |
shall have to call her for she requests that her name be with-
held from publication and states that she is not actively inter-
ested in either Spiritualism or Theosophy and is not associated
with any occult order. Miss P——-, by chance, read some of
my writings on the subject of projection, and wrote to me,
relating several instances in which she found herself out of her
body and conscious. I here pass on one which took place at
her home in 1929:

‘*...1 had written a letter one evening and given it to my
brother to post in the morning, in case I should not be down
before he went out. He put the letter on the hall table where
I saw it as I went upstairs to bed. Before I went to sleep I
thought of something in the letter I wished I had not said and
decided not to send it, but to get ‘up real early and go down
and get it before my brother took it to post.

“I could have gone down then but was afraid I might disturb
my people, and besides I was rather afraid to go through the
dark hall. The house seems so eerie I am always afraid to
walk about through it in the dark. So I went to sleep.

“The next thing I knew I was half way down the bottom
flight of stairs in a ghost body! I was looking for the letter,
but I do not know how I got there. I was as conscious as I am
right now. It was not at all like a dream.

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“The hall was dreary save for a shaft of moonlight coming
in through the glass over the front door and I noticed every-
thing as I went on, even the pattern of the stair carpet. I went
to the hall table. The letter was not there...”

“Miss P , then tells how she made a search for the missing
letter but was unable to find it. Becoming somewhat frightened
at her own peculiar actions she started back up to her sleeping
room again, but knew no more after she reached the middle of
the first flight of stairs—the exact spot where she first became
conscious in her ghostly body — and momentarily found her-
self physically awake in her bed, fully aware of what had taken
place.

“Next morning I was up early and went down stairs
before brother arose. Looking upon the hall table I found the
letter was not there. I asked brother where it was and he said
he had taken it from the hall table and put it elsewhere the
night before. When I told him of my experience he said I must
have been dreaming or walking in my sleep...”

And isn’t that what most people would say? But Miss P——,
revolts at such an explanation by saying:

“How could I be dreaming when I was conscious? How
could I be walking in my sleep when I was awake?”

WALKS ON AIR, SEES PHYSICAL BODY

The reputable theologian, publisher, and writer, Dr. I. K.
Funk related a case of astral projection in his book, Psychic
Riddle. The subject described how he lost control of his body
by reason of a cold numbness which advanced over it. This loss
of control and numbness overcame him on a number of occasions
before he actually left his body.

“,.. There came a flashing of lights in my eyes and a ringing
in my ears, and it seemed for an instant as though I had become
unconscious. When I came out of this state I seemed to be walk-
ing on air. No words can describe the exhilaration and freedom
that I experienced. No words can describe the clearness of

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mental vision. At no time in my life had my mind been so clear
and so free... I became conscious of being in a room and look-
ing down on a body propt-up in bed, which I recognized as my
own. I cannot tell what strange feelings came over me! This
body, to all intents and purposes, looked to be dead.

“There was no indication of life about it, and yet here I was,
apart from the body, with my mind thoroughly clear and alert,
and the consciousness of another body to which matter of any
kind offered no resistance... After what might have been a
minute or two, looking at the body, ] began to try and control
it, and in a very short time all sense of separation from the
physical body ceased, and I was only conscious of a direct effort
toward its use. After what seemed to be quite a long time, I was
able to move, got up from the bed, dressed myself, and went
down to breakfast...”

In answer to the criticism invariably advanced — that this
was merely a ‘vivid dream’ — the subject says:

“I know that many people may think that the statements re-
corded here are simply the result of an active imagination, or
perhaps a dream, but they are neither the one nor the other. If
the whole world were to rise up... it would not make one par-
ticle of difference in my mind, as I am absolutely certain that
I have been as free from my physical body as I ever will be, and
that my life apart from it was far more wonderful than any life
I have ever experienced in it .. .”

SEES HIMSELF SEPARATE DURING ANAESTHESIA

The widely known American writer and philosopher James
A. Edgerton has presented me with a copy of his absorbing
book, Invading the Invisible, and has given me permission to
quote the out of the body experience of hisson.* The son, James

*Years ago Mr. Edgerton discovered that time is the fourth dimension,
that it meets all mathematical requirements and that the hypothesis is
metaphysically valid. This was before Minkowsky. The findings were
syndicated in a number of American newspapers.

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C. Edgerton, who is well known in aviation circles and who
never had a previous psychic experience, tells the story in his
own words:

“This experience, which absolutely convinces me of a future
personal life, was produced by an anaesthetic in preparation
for an operation for appendicites. There was no conscious back-
ground for the experience as it was totally dissimilar from any
with which I am familiar.

“In the first place let me say that I was in full possession of my
faculties, as there was no fever or other mental deterrent present.
As is usual I was strapped to the operating table and was given
an anesthetic through a face mask which completely obscured
vision. I was fully conscious of inhaling three full breaths.

“On the second breath, however, an unusual train of circum-
stances started which can best be described by the statement that
my physical senses seemed suddenly to shift into a body other
than the physical. With no mental lapse whatsoever, I was clearly
conscious that I was half sitting up and that my eyes seemed to
take on X-ray qualities which reduced my physical body to a
mere shadow with the ankle and knee joints slightly more
prominent.

“T saw another body within this shell, glistening brilliantly,
and as I watched this new body of which I seemed to be a part,
and which was more objective to me than my physical body had
ever been I slid out of my fleshy envelope with rapidly increas-
ing acceleration. During this interval my other senses were also
functioning, the sense of feeling being concerned with a soul
shaking wrench which seemed to extend to every cell of
my body.

“To my ears came a beautiful sine wave note, corresponding
to middle E on the piano, which increased from zero to volume
which seemed to fill the universe. Following this I heard a voice
which I seemed to respond to as to any physical voice, which
repeated these words: ‘You are now suffering all the pangs of

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violent death. You are in the hands of friends and everything
will be all right.’ I did not lose consciousness until I was en-
tirely separate fromthe physical body, which I knew beyond any
question I had left.”

PROJECTS AND APPEARS AT SEANCE

According to the statements of Mrs. L—, of Wanganui, New
Zealand, she has had unintentional conscious projections for
years, but it was not until she read some of the present writer’s
works that the thought ever entered her mind that the phenom-
enon could be produced at will. Mrs. L—, has since written me
of her successes, but at such great length that I cannot de-
tail them.

However, one little experiment—the first she ever tried, is
curious. Some of her friends were holding a seance on the night
of April 10, 1929 at considerable distance.

“* ... I decided to make an experiment. Being ill and confined
to bed in my home, I could not join them at their circle. Know-
ing the time they would sit would be between 7:30 and 9:30
o’clock, I proposed to myself to project my astral body to their
presence.

“Originally I thought as this was but a preliminary exper-
iment I would just try to show myself to them; but later the
thought came to me that if I could do that it might be possible
to speak to them.

“IT must say here that no other person knew of my proposed
experiment...”

Mrs. L.—, states that being ill in bed she commenced early that
evening and made every effort to project her voice as well as her
subtle body to the sitters, falling asleep about eight o'clock.
When she awoke next morning she was not aware that anything
unusual had taken place; but later those who were present at
the circle called and expressed great surprise that her form—

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even to the nightgown and jewelery on her wrist—appeared at
the seance, spoke to them, and vanished. Mrs. L—, can furnish
the names of all parties involved in this incident.

As stated, that was Mrs. L—’s, first experiment. She tells of
having conscious projections also. Once she felt her body going
out and it went straight upward “as one might feel if he were
drawn directly upward through a tube by hydraulic pressure”
and met with things which were utterly beyond earthly words to
describe. Mrs. L—, has since informed me that she intends to
publish this particular experience in book form in the near
future.

On another occasion, the return to her body, after a projection
contains some notable points:

‘“* . .. I distinctly remember (on my return) someone, who
sounded like myself, saying, ‘there is your body—now get back
into it’ and as I heard the voice say that I looked down and saw
my own physical body. It was in the same position it had been in
when I went to sleep. The next thing I knew I was going back into
it, somewhere about the middle, rather higher than the waist,
near the chest...”

GHOST GOES HOME DURING OPERATION

Through the kind permission of Mr. Daniel K. Wheeler, past
editor of Ghost Stories Magazine, who, a few years ago became
greatly interested in my researches into projection phenomenon,
the two cases which immediately followed are reproduced from
letters to the editor of that periodical. Case one is by a Dallas
Texas lady who says:

“TI had been sick for about two years and an operation was
absolutely necessary . .. My mother could not stand to see me
operated on, and so my brother came to the hospital and stayed
with me through it all. Just before I went under the ether I told
them not to worry about me because I would come out all right
. -- I lost consciousness under the ether—and then, suddenly,
I found myself walking up Bryan street toward my home.

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“I came to our house and went inside. Mother was sitting
there hunched up in a chair with tears in her eyes and she
turned her face toward me.

“Mamma,” I said, “I am so cold. I want to warm myself.”
“Then I realized there were other people with me. I saw my
baby brother who had died at birth and my mother’s mother too.
I kept saying over and over: ‘I am so cold.’ ”

The subject next states that she was told to go back to her body,
that it was time for her to return, which she eventually did and
woke up again in the hospital.

FINDS FREEDOM AND BEAUTY IN SPIRIT WORLD

In case two from Ghost Stories a daughter tells of a projection
which her mother experienced and later wrote down. The
mother’s written account follows:

““..- 1 am writing this experience so that when the time comes
for the separation here for any of our loved ones, may this
eacred experience come as a sweet benediction to those left just
a little while longer ...”

“Gradually the pain which had come upon me grew duller,
the voices in my sick room fainter. Then it seemed to me that
one after another of those attending me left the room, the last
one taking the lighted lamp with her. I was left in darkness
and alone. I could not understand why they would all leave me
so, and I so desperately ill.” .

It appears that the subject was presumed dead when those
attending her left the room. The account continues:

“Almost immediately a mellow light near the ceiling of my
room revealed a company of several apparently very happy
people performing duties which they seemed to love to do be-
cause of the love back of the duty. Not one appeared troubled
or hurried in any way.

““As I gazed in wonderment, I recognized but one, my father
who had left us just fifteen years before. He was the only one
who seemed to recognize me. He looked from his work once or

85

twice in the direction in which | lay. Finally he approached me
so very tenderly that I thought that he had come to take me away.
Then I seemed to rise out of matter, into spirit and found myself
in the arms of omnipotent love that bore me with my father to
a spot whose loveliness mortals cannot describe.

“As we were borne along I seemed to be so free. These are the
thoughts which revealed my freedom: ‘I have no home—heaven
is my home. I have no children—we are all God’s children. I
have no husband for there is no marrying or giving in marriage
here, we are all brothers and sisters and God is our father. I have
no cares—God cares for all. Oh!-How free! No cares!’ No lan-
guage here can convey the spiritual meaning of freedom; neither
can spiritual freedom be comprehended in the flesh.

“Presently my father paused and made me comfortable in a
bower of fragrant flowers and resumed his duties. I seemed to
sleep for a while. When I awoke there was a great concourse of
people passing to and fro communicating in 4 language unknown
to me. Each one seemed inspired by love in a joy and freedom
as each went about his several duties. As an infant is here, I was
there, happy in my helplessness.

“Then my father bent over me and lifted me again into his
arms. Though not a word had been spoken, I understood the
meaning of his action. ‘Oh, papa, must I go back to that old
body? Can’t I stay here? Here I am so happy, so free.’

“With a gentle wave of his hand which I knew meant listen;
with his head turned to one side as if to catch the sound of a far
off voice, he stood silent, not a sound fell on my ears. When he
received his answer he spoke for the first time. He said: ‘No
child, the Master says that you must return. Your work is
not finished.’ .

. “At the Master’s command, I was perfectly willing to obey
We descended to the earth plane as quietly as we had ascended,
passing through every material object. When my father left me,

I do not know, but I do remember looking upon my body as it
lay there on the bed.”

86

“Then I heard the sound of one of my small daughter’s voice
calling, ‘Mamma—Mamma.’ I struggled to get my breath. My
husband was bending over me begging me to speak. It seemed
hours before I could get warm. My feet and hands were drawn
out of shape and almost rigid. . . . It was a long time before ]
could relate my experience...”

BETWEEN TIME AND ETERNITY

In 1932 I had the honor of receiving a letter from J. M. Stuart-
Young, the extraordinary novelist, poet, and philosopher, of
Nigeria, West South Africa. Stuart-Young who writes under the
pseudonym “QOdezikau” is the author of belles-lettres, novels,
essays, poems, etc., covering a wide range of subjects, e. g.,
Nigerian Nonsense, Day Dreams of an Exile, Johnny Jones,
Guttersnipe and many others.

Having established his identity, I wish to say that Stuart-
Young once had a sort of disassociation experience, and has since
been experimenting with and studying a subject (Dreaming
True) closely related to projection of the astral body.

In the letter he wrote: “Oh! How amazing! I have just read
your book and we are both on the same trail . . . My first ex-
perience of this kind came about through the taking of an over-
dose of arsenic and quinine in 1923 . . . I now know what was
binding me to my body. ..I gave a brief account of my experi-
ence in The Two Worlds shortly after it happened; but I do not
now possess a copy of same . . . It seems that you have been suc-
ceeding where I have only been fumbling (though at times with
amazing accuracy) ...I am all athrill as I write you, realizing
that you, living thousands of miles away, have confirmed my ex-
perience...”

Through the courtesy of Mr. Oaten, editor of The Two Worlds,
I reproduce, from the original, a few paragraphs of Stuart-
Young’s borderline experience which appeared August 8, 1924.
The bulk of the experience relates to the subject’s sense of time

87

during anwsthesia, so for obvious reasons I omit that. The
author says:

“ ...1 can cap this phenomenon by my personal experience
during my present sojourn in the tropics . . . I was instructed by
my doctor to cease taking quinine in small quantities at daily in-
tervals. He supplied me instead with a concentrated liquid. I had
to absorb the prescribed dose whenever I felt an attack of fever
coming on.

“Qn the occasion to which I am alluding I fear that I must
have drunk too much. After the lapse of half an hour I became
violently sick ... I found myself stone deaf and partially blind.
Fortunately my negro servant was available. It happened to be
late evening of Saturday, and I had meant to rest over the Sab-
bath. I was now so prostrate that I reeled like a drunken man
. .. The deafness, coupled with the dimness of sight, gave me
a strong impression that my body did not belong to me.

“Hayford, the negro steward, had to remain by my bed all
night, tending me, wiping away the perspiration from my entire
body and massaging my benumbed limbs. . . There were periods
when I conceived that I was on the point of dissolution, for J
seemed to be hovering outside my body, and to envisage the open
verandah, where I work and sleep—just as one beholds a scene
on the stage. It was something apart, something in which I was
not an actor.

“There was, moreover, a periodic sensation which I recall
very vividly: ‘If someone whom I know to be dead comes to me,
then I shall realize that I am likewise dead. I will then un-
hestitaingly break the thread that appears to be holding me to
life.’ This did not happen. I was quite alone in a realm of
mental abstractions.

“Yet the night passed like a breath. I remember starting con-
versations with my servant ... He informs me now that I would
commence a sentence, wait a matter of two or three minutes, con-
clude it, and then be silent for nearly an hour, then resume the
same conversation. I was dictating to him quite reasonable

88

instructions about my affairs in case | died.

“‘ ._.. There is a temporary severance of the consciousness
from the brain . . . This severance brings about spells of ignor-
ance—something comparable only to oblivion. It is as though
the spirit believed itself to be following a straight road and
walking without ceasing. To the observer, however, that prog-
ress is impeded by the spirit’s casual stopping to observe the
marks on the milestones which are passed. In this manner,
hours, days, months, even years, may cease to count. For the
spirit is standing outside time. It only functions in time when it
hasa brain through which to make its presence known. . . . I may
say that my confidence in the continuity of life has been greatly
iad by this accidental incident. There was nothing
whatever in the act of “passing” of which to be afraid...”

Stuart- Young in one of his latest books, Dreaming True (Dan-
jels) says: “... My earliest experiences of being wholly and
consciously projected carried with them the thought: ‘If I now
desire to die, I can do so!’ Looking down at what seemed my
lifeless physical shell was so amazing a sensation that I could
ecarcely believe at first but that I was the subject of halluci-
nation...”

PROJECTION PRECEDED BY CATALEPSY

In a letter dated May 5, 1936, Mr. Bert Bradbury who resides
at Knaresboro’, Yorks, Eng. states that he has had several un-
usual psychic experiences, including suspension of physical
motivity while conscious, dreams which later “came true” and
the seeing of scenes behind him exactly as if they were being re-
flected in a mirror placed in front of him.

“« ... IT had a strange experience during the war,” says Mr.
Bradbury. “I was senior fireman in the fire brigade in one of
the large filling factories in the North of England. I was on night
duty and, during the hour of luncheon, I decided to have a
shogt nap.

89

“|, .On awakening I found that I could not move! I seemed
to be in a cataleptic state, but was perfectly conscious. Panic
seized my mind. What if a fire occurred? I could not sound the
alarm! Although the buzzer was within reach, I was powerless to
touch it.

“I struggled hard to move. Suddenly I seemed to disengage
from my physical self and found myself in the air looking down
upon my body ... Next I had a fear of being certified as dead
and of being buried alive. This out-of-the-body state lasted for
a short time; after a while I managed to regain the use of my
physical self again and I was very thankful.

“* ... May I add that my wife has seen the form of myself enter
the kitchen and she almost fainted. Another time she awoke and
saw what she recognized as my form entering the bedroom and
looking down she found that I was asleep. I have also had
others tell me that they have seen me while projected ...”

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

The name Gail Hamilton lives immortally among famous
American writer. She was also prominent in social affairs at the
United States Capitol, and a close relative of James G. Blaine,
probably the most conspicuous national figure of the time.

Miss Hamilton tells how she fell into a prolonged state of
suspended animation (apparent death) and found herself sep-
arated and outside of her physical body. This experience was
related by Miss Hamilton in a letter written to her pastor, May
10, 1895. The same letter was later reproduced in a now out of
print volume entitled, ““Gail Hamilton’s Life in Letters,” edited
by H. Augusta Dodge, published in Boston in 1901. Miss Ham-
ilton wrote her pastor as follows:

“It was early morning, but so swiftly the darkness fell that
I have always thought of it as evening. I was standing by my
lounge in my room when I felt myself sinking. There was no
pain, no alarm, no fear, no feeling. I had but one thought—that

90

it would be a shock to the family to find me on the floor, and
that I must get upon the lounge.

“‘When, or, if I gave up the struggle I do not remember, or the
lapse of time, only there was a lapse, and then I heard a voice at
the door asking: ‘Is everything all right’? I answered: ‘No, it is
not all right.’

“Unlock the door and let me in.”

“IT cannot, I am on the floor and cannot get up.”

“Another lapse of time and then familiar voices were all
around me. I saw nothing, but I seemed to hear everything—
lamentations that I had fallen and hurt myself. I told them that
I had not fallen but let myself down.

“‘Much of the time immediately succeeding I was in a passage-
way between two rooms. The room on one side was this world,
on the other, the next world. The doors of both were closed.

“Once I asked: ‘Am I supposed to be alive still?’

“‘So many friends were around me who had gone out of this
world that it suddenly occurred to me whether I myself might
not be already gone, and I was about to ask: ‘Am I dead or alive?’
But I thought if it should turn out that I was still alive the ques-
tion might sound rather brusque and harsh, and I deliberately
softened it to: ‘Am I supposed to be living still?’

“To myself it seemed, and it seems still, as if my spirit were
partially detached from my body—not absolutely free from it,
but floating about, receiving impressions with great readiness,
but not with entire accuracy, as if the spirit were made to receive
impressions through the bodily organs, and without them could
not rely implicitly upon its own observations...”

It appears that Miss Hamilton’s body was removed from
Washington, to her home, miles away, while in this state of
suspended animation. She goes on to say:

“Of leaving Washington, of the long journey by ambulance
and car, I have no knowledge. I seemed to be in a steamboat on
the Amazon river, near its mouth. It was only as I neared home
that the idea of locality adjusted itself ... When the train stop-

91

ped, dear familiar faces were all around me—who received me
as something consecrated, and held out to me their kind, strong
arms...

“T had not expected otherwise but I was immeasurably en-
couraged and strengthened.”

Miss Hamilton gives no description of her repossession of
physical faculties and the last paragraph of her letter is difficult
to understand. She says:

“Under the best professional care, phantoms of the other
world disappeared . . . and I slept in a green shaded meadow on
a bank of blue flowers, by cool waters in the midst of cresses and
rushes and all green growing things.”

“From all accounts, however, Miss Hamilton seemed none the
worse for her sojourn in the other world.

FINDS HER ASTRAL BODY BEAUTIFUL

In the past I carried on extensive correspondence with Car-
oline D. Larsen, of Burlington, Vermont, relative to projecting
the astral body. A short time ago, Mrs. Larsen, whose husband
is a noted musician, published a volume, My Travels in the Sptris
World, which contains much valuable information and many
fascinating accounts taken from her own experience, one of
which I reproduce here. For a full account of all of Mrs. Larsen’s
spirit world travels, I refer my readers to the book mentioned.

Mrs. Larsen retired one evening quite early and was lying
passive, enjoying the music of her husband’s string quartet
(downstairs) which was rehearsing for a concert, when suddenly
the process of exteriorization set in.

“ ...A feeling of deep oppression and apprehension came
over me, not unlike that which precedes a fainting spell. I braced
myself against it, but to no avail. The overpowering oppression
deepened and soon numbness crept over me until every muscle
became paralyzed. In this condition I remained for some time.
My mind, however, was still working as clearly as ever . . . The

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next thing I knew was that I, I myself, was standing on the floor
beside my bed looking down attentively at my own physical
body lying in it.

“I recognized every line in the familiar face, pale and still
as in death, the features drawn, the eyes tightly closed and the
mouth partly open. The arms and hands rested limp and lifeless
beside the body. I gazed at that material form of mine for a few
minutes while mingled feelings passed over me. Strangely
enough, they were not feelings of great surprise. I experienced
no shock at finding myself in this peculiar position. It was
chiefly curiosity that possessed my mind. I was perfectly calm
and composed as I viewed that mortal form I had just prev-
iously inhabited.

“T now raised my eyes from my body and looked around the
room. Everything appeared to me as natural as ever. There was
the little table with books and trinkets on it. There was the
dresser, the armchair, the smaller chairs, the green carpet on the
floor ... The music from downstairs kept floating up to my ears.
I glanced once more at my body which, to all appearances
seemed dead. Then I turned and walked slowly towards the
door, passed through it and into a hall that led to the bathroom.

‘“‘As I walked toward that room past the stairway, I heard
the music coming up with increased force, and I delighted in the
lovely adagio from Beethoven’s Op. 127 Quartet, a special fav-
orite of mine. As I entered the bathroom the strains gradually
diminishing in volume. I now approached a large mirror hang-
ing above the bathroom washbowl. Through force of habit I
went through the motions of turning on the electric light, which,
of course, I did not actually turn on. But there was no need for
illumination, for, from my body and face emanated a strong
whitish light that lighted up the room brilliantly.”

Mrs. Larsen states that on gazing into the mirror she saw her-
self, not as a middle-aged woman, but as she was when a girl of
eighteen. Her hair was no longer grey but dark brown and
wavey and “to my delight I was dressed in the loveliest white

93

shining garment imaginable—a sleeveless one-piece dress, cut
low at the neck and reaching almost to my ankles . . . My joy
and enthusiasm were unbounded at seeing myself so beautiful
. .- It was also an exhilarating sensation to be conscious of the
fact that I was outside of my physical body...”

Mrs. Larsen continues: “Suddenly I heard the strains of
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. I knew at once that the French-
man was playing the solo. It was a habit of his while the music
was being changed on the stand. But, as always, he played
it out of tune’. . . I felt disgusted for the moment, forgetting all
about myself and muttered angrily: ‘Oh, I wish my husband
would tell that Frenchman to play that Concerto in tune or not
play it at all.’ Fortunately the quartet now began to play again
and the soothing music of Beethoven calmed me...”

Delighted with the beauty of her astral body, Mrs. Larsen
goes on to say: “A block away from us lived Miss B., a friend
who had often complimented me on my taste in dressing and on
my general appearance. I conceived the notion that I would go
to her and show myself. ‘Won’t she be astonished?’ I asked
myself. ‘If she complimented me before, what will she say now?
But first I will go down and present myself to my husband and
the other men.’

“ . .. I did not fancy that had I succeeded in getting up to
Miss B., or down to my husband and the musicians, none of them
would have been able to see me . . . Just as I came to a little plat-
form which divides the stairway into two flights, I saw, standing
before me, a woman spirit in shining clothes with arms out-
stretched and with forefinger pointing upwards. There was a
look of strong determination on her face as she spoke to me
sternly: ‘Where are you going? Go back to your body!’

“ .,. I knew instinctively that from that spirits command and
authority there was no appeal. I must obey. Reluctantly I turned,
ascended the stairs, walked through the hall, into my bedroom
and up to my bed. My physical body lay there as still and life-
less as when I left it. I viewed it with disappointment . . . In

04.

another instant I had again joined with that physical form.

“ ... When I related to my husband the story of my super-
natural experience and we compared notes as to what had
occurred downstairs, that which I had heard with my astral
ears agreed to the smallest detail with what he told me had taken
place at the rehearsal...” |

CONSCIOUSLY DRAWN OUT OF HER FLESH

It is with regret that I cannot here set forth all of the extra-
ordinary experiences relating to exteriorization of consciousness
which Miss Cromwell Addison has undergone. Miss Addison,
who lives at 11 Woodbury Grove, Finsbury Park, N. 4. England
has gone into lengthy detail in furnishing me with accounts
of her adventures, and, in my next volume of this series I hope
to relate more of them. The following is one of the more brief
and simple of her cases:

“,.. One night I awoke to find myself floating over my body,
a few feet from the ceiling and could see my physical body on the
bed beneath me. I appeared to be in an utterly cataleptic state,
yet my consciousness was greatly intensified.

“This was not my first projection as I had several times been
observed by others, in the astral body, many miles away; but
this time I awakened while yet over my body. Panic seized me
as I realized what had occurred and I wondered how to get back
before anyone discovered my ‘corpse’ and this fear instantly
made me recoil into my form with a great shock. I lay with
mighty pulsations passing through my frame, the very bed
appeared to be shaking.

“For a few moments I rested quietly, thinking it over and
blaming myself for my fear for I realized the value of the ex-
perience I might have had. Presently the vibrations again in-
creased in intensity, and a rocking movement ensued. I admon-
ished myself to lie still, knowing that if I did not consciously
resist there was no cause for fear. By an effort I forced myself
to deliberate calmness, waiting for what might still occur.

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“Presently I was rewarded by a very slow but strong “ pulling”
sensation at the top of my head, as if from a giant hand. Then,
as I remained passive, I was gradually drawn as if out of a tight
rubber bathing suit, which I knew to be my flesh. Fully con-
scious, though in a perfectly cataleptic condition, I mentally
commented, ‘I am in my bedroom at such and such an address;
C— A— is my name; my bed is head to the wall adjoining the
garden; now my head and shoulders are passing through the
wall; now they are over the garden; now I am out to my knees,
and still I could feel the tightness of the flesh below the points
which were not free. “There now I am out to my ankles; what is
going to happen?’

“Then I heard words, apparently spoken close beside me: ‘Let
her return now slowly, and next time she will not be afraid.” The
whole process was then gently repeated in the reverse, and I
glided into my body as slowly as I had withdrawn. There was a
moment of darkness as the head of my astral body slipped into
the material form, but not the slightest shock. It was as if the
light had been obscured for a second.

“Another time was when a friend saw me, as she thought, leave
my room and house, even rising to go in search of me, but she
never fathomed the mystery, and returned to find me sound
asleep in bed. I was dressed in a red frock which she recognized.
Next day I wrote of the incident to a friend in the U. S. A., whose
letter, also written the same day, crossed mine in the mail, arriv-
ing two weeks later seemingly solving the mystery—as I had
been seen in the United States that same night, the difference in
time being allowed for. Remember—I had been seen leaving my
house, in England by one friend, and seen arriving in the United
States by another, both witnesses unknown to each other men-
tioning the red dress. The witness in U. S. is, however, now
estranged from me because of a well-meant though misunder-
stood letter, written to him, unknown to me, by a relative.

““ , .. IT have often awakened just prior to re-entering my
physical body after being exteriorized during sleep and am now

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well acquainted with the preparatory process of the loosening
the astral body. Long ago, when I asked if such things could be,
I would get such replies as, ‘it’s only another bat in the belfry!’
Then a librarian accidentally gave me your book, The Projection
of the Astral Body. Thank you! For I learned from it that if that
remark is true, there must be a fair lot of intelligent people
‘batty’.”

SPENDS SEVERAL DAYS IN SPIRIT WORLD

Most of my readers know of the life work of the Rev. Cora L.
V. Richmond, early Peace Conference worker, who, from the age
of eleven held large audiences spellbound from lecture plat
forms throughout the world. On numerous occasions she left
her body, once in particular remaining for a prolonged period
while her physical form appeared truly cadaverous.

From her account, My Experiences While out of My Body
and My Return After Many Days, I make some excerpts, re-
ferring those interested to the original for the complete story.
After telling of her separation from the physical counterpart
she goes on to say:

“* |. . Many times, almost numberless, I had experienced the
wonderful consciousness of being absent from my human form,
of mingling with arisen friends in their higher state of existence.
but, until now I had always known that it was only for a brief
season and that there was a tie—a vital and psychic tie— binding
me to return to my earth form.

“* ,.. The best beloved, those who had preceded me into this
wonderous life, came thronging around to welcome me; not all
at once but first those who were by tenderest ties the nearest and
the dearest. They did not answer my question: ‘Have I really
come to stay?’ The guide took me gently in charge that I might
not even think of the form I had so lately left. A great sense of
relief, of being set free from the limitations of the body,

filled me.
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6é

. . . My attention was continually attracted to some group
that had not been seen by me—always a surprise to find them
ALL there. They would smile and seem to answer: ‘Yes, all
here,’ in our own particular states, and doing our own appointed
work .. . There was a perception of great light, a consciousness of
illumination, an awakening to the vastness of the Realm of Spirit.

‘All human sensations, as sight and hearing, are readily
perceived by one awakening to spiritual states to be but man-
ifestations of consciousness through the physical limitations to
which the spirit in its mental states of earth becomes accustomed.
But here all is merged in perception—where one perceives and
understands, my guide informed me.

“This added consciousness—uniting or releasing the faculties
—is not all at once: I found myself thinking in the accustomed
channels, in words as well as thoughts, listening for replies in-
stead of knowing that the answer had been thought to me, really
was there before I had questioned . . . 1 became more and more
aware that the whole of me, released from the fetters of the body
senses, could perceive and receive more perfectly the answer to
every question, even before its formation in thought . . . It is of
little avail, however, to attempt to bring into outward forms of
thought and expression the perceptions one is aware of while one
is in that inner state.

‘‘ _.. After a time (I do not know how long) I became aware
of being led to where the earthly form was still breathing, being
cared for and imbued with breath by a beloved Guardian spirit
and by devoted friends in earthly life. I was to return after all!
It was necessary to keep my spirit en rapport with the body as
the Psychic Cord was not severed that connected body and spirit.
But not at once was I to return. These periods of calling my
attention to and visiting the body were brief—just enough to
keep the vital spark alive, and aid the dear attendants in both
worlds to prevent the complete separation which for many days
seemed imminent.”

Mrs. Richmond states that she met hundreds of persons who

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had passed from earth life and that they were working in what-
ever line of knowledge and work was theirs to attain and achieve
... It was wonderful to note the ministrations of spirits to those
in other, less fortunate states, especially to those in Earthly
forms. Wherever the ties of consanguinity were also of real
affection the spirit guardians of the household responded to the
‘call’ perhaps only a thought, a longing, or a silent prayer for
aid and strength, or a need unknown to the one ministered unto.

“ ... Spirit states are as varied as are the personal states of
those composing them . . . Time does not seem to be a factor in
the realm of the spirits except as related to people and events in
the human state with which spirits have connection. It was,
however, a source of continual wonder and surprise to note the
changing forms and atmospheres in the surroundings of those
with whom I was brought in contact.

© |, . One whom I had known from early childhood came to-
ward me with a group of his friends and relatives, whom I had
also known. He greeted me as he was ever wont to do when we
both were in Earth forms. Though advanced in years before he
left the form, he was ever youthful, ever calm and peaceful.”

This spirit told Mrs. Richmond that “differences of birth,
nationality, outward rank and even of education, are not real
differences in spirit.” She also states that she visited the battle-
field, the war being in progress at the time . . . “ I saw the bright
spots where the ministrants of mercy were rallying, regardless
of nationality or class, to aid those physically wounded, to
breathe a word of comfort to those injured mortally who were
‘passing on’. Above the terrible scenes of battle I saw those in
the rank and file . . . so suddenly wrenched from their bodies.
Their first thoughts were of those loved ones from whom they
were suddenly parted when ordered to the front.”

After witnessing innumerable phases of spirit life, far too
lengthy and involved for me to repeat, Mrs. Richmond noticed
that the visits to her physical counterpart—to recharge it with
the energy of life—were becoming more frequent.

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“* _.. I prayed to be allowed to remain, to let the body pass:
but gradually ... the garb of the physical body became less re-
pugnant.” Eventually she returned to material life again. She
continues: “‘. .. Have you ever visited some fair garden, some
sequestered home of dearest friends, a place radiant with beauty
and enchantment; where there were flowers massed in rarest
combinations of color and fragrance, fountains murmuring in
answer to the summer winds, music, such as seemed a part of the
enrapturing scene; have you enjoyed this with the chosen friends
that alone could make the scene sacred, the best beloved?

“‘And have you known the reluctance to return to the outer
world of daily routine of care, perhaps of pain? Then you know
in the smallest degree what it meant to me to return to my
bodily form. ”

PROJECTS TO SICK FRIEND

On June 19, 1936, Mrs. F. Collins, of Westbury, Wilts, Eng.
wrote me saying that she has had experiences out-of-the-body.
Several times she has found herself leaving her physical body
and travelling to some distant place where she has heard and
seen what was taking place there at the time.

The case I here quote was, according to Mrs. Collins, the most
striking she ever experienced, for at the time of its happening it
was corroborated. She writes:

“I should be pleased for you to publish my experience of
astral projection. For want of a better way of expressing it, I
seem to be one of those persons whose elements are loosely-knit-
together, as I so often have different casual psychic happenings
which are entirely unintentional on my part...”

Mrs. Collins continues: “One night in bed I was lying in a
relaxed and quiescent state preparatory to falling to sleep, when
I found myself leaving my physical body and moving or float-
ing toward the house of a friend, who, at that period of my life
was a great deal in my thoughts.

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“T stopped at her house and wandered about outside, and then
suddenly found myself in the scullery where I saw my friend
walking up and down the room in great pain and very ill. I felt
very distressed and tried to help her, but on finding I could not
do so, was so frightened that with a violent rush I was back in my
body again, shaking violently and suffering from shock. The
time was exactly 11:30 p. m.

“The following day, feeling uneasy I called upon my friend
and on questioning her she admitted that she had been ill in
precisely the manner and at the exact time when I visited her in
my astral body.”

LIES ON BACK, PROJECTS

In 1930, a friend Miss L—, with whose sane and scientific
view-point on all matters pertaining to the occult, I have been
impressed, narrated the following to me, although she requests
that her name be withheld for fear that her friends and associates
might laugh should they read it. To say the least we cannot
accuse Miss L—, of seeking publicity.

“|... 1 am quite convinced that I have had an out-of-the-body
experience, although not a very extended one, nor a particularly
interesting one; and what surprises me is that since it took place
twenty-seven years ago, I have never had a repetition of the
same occurrence.

“T was visiting an aunt in Boston at the time and one night I
awoke just enough to know where I was. The thought came to me
that if I turned over on my back I could get out of my body. So
I did turn over on my back. Then I fell into the same deep sleep
out of which I had been aroused.

“Next I found myself completely conscious and standing on
the floor of my room. I should say that my astral self was about
eight feet away from my physical self. The room was no bright-
er than the light afforded by the moon. My next thought was
that if I would select some place to go I could go there.

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“I chose a place (the room of a friend) and found myself
there instantly, standing at the foot of the bed. My friend was in
the bed and the room was dark, except for the moonlight. I stood
there only a short time—then I don’t know what became of me.
I don’t recall if I woke up immediately in my physical body or
not. I may have it recorded in my diary which I kept at the time,
but being of minor importance it did not stay in my memory .. .”

“There were three periods of consciousness: First, when I
awoke and turned over; second, when I found myself projected
and standing in my room; third, when I found myself standing
in my friend’s room . . . I have always been puzzled as to the
source of my information or instruction to turn over on my back.
It was just a mental impression, a sort of hunch, but I do not see
why I had to lie that way ... At times, while sleeping on my back,
I have felt as if I were being held in a vise and would struggle
to move...”

NOVELIST HAS FIVE PROJECTIONS

A letter dated June 15, 1936 from William Gerhardi the
famous novelist with whose works I am sure many of my readers
will be familiar, informs me that he has had five out-of-the-body
experiences. His novel, “Resurrection” is based upon one of
these experiences, and his letter goes on to say: “Though
“Resurrection” for reasons stated in the prefatory note, is pre-
sented in the form of a novel, the experience is entirely genuine
. .. you have my permission to quote me . . . may I take this
opportunity of telling you that I have read your book, The Pro-
jection of the Astral Body, and find my own experiences tally
with yours...”

I now quote a portion of Mr. Gerhardi’s astral adventure:

““ ... | had been dreaming a dream, so ridiculous, that sud-
denly it came over me that I must be dreaming . . . ‘Now wake’ I
said, ‘and find that there is no need to worry, because it is only a

dream’. And I awoke.
102

“But I awoke with a start. For I had stretched out my hand
to press the switch of the lamp on the bookshelf over my bed,
and instead, found myself grasping the void, and myself sus-
pended precariously in mid-air, on a level with the bookcase.
The room, except for the light of the electric stove, was in dark-
ness, but all around me was a milky pellucid light, like steam.

“T was that moment fully awake, and so fully conscious that
I could not doubt my senses, astonished as I have never been
before, arnazed to the point of proud exhilaration. I said to my-
self, ‘fancy that! Whoever would have believed it! And this is
not a dream.’

“It seemed almost ludicrous. . . It was as if I were being held
up by a steel arm which held me rigid—myself, in comparison,
as light as a feather. Next the force which held me up was elec-
trified to a bout of energy by the sudden apprehension which
succeeded my first moment of delighted astonishment.

“The swiftness with which I was seized, pushed out horizon-
tally, placed on my feet and thrust forward with the gentle-firm
hand of the monitor—‘There you are, my good man, now you can
proceed on your own’—was something in the highest degree
incredible, yet which I cannot doubt . .. Then my body checked
its outward movement, turned round. And turning, I became
aware for the first time of a strange appendage.

“At the back of me was a coil of light, like a luminous garden
hose resembling the strong broad ray of dusty light at the back
of a dark cinema projecting on the screen in front. To my utter
astonishment, that broad cable of light at the back of me illum-
inated the very face on the pillows I recognized as my own, as if
attached to the brow of the sleeper.

“It was myself, not dead, but breathing peacefully, my mouth
slightly open. My cheeks were flushed as if I must have felt hot
under those blankets and eiderdown drawn over my shoulder. My
hair, lifted by the pressure of the pillow, presented an aspect of
my face not familiar to me, never before having seen myself
asleep. The face, lying sidewise, and deeply sunk into the pillow,

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was pathetic and touching in its vacant innocence of expression
—and here was I outside it watching it with a thrill of joy and
fear. I was awed and not a little frightened to think that I was in
the body of my resurrection.

“So that’s what it’s like? How utterly unforseen! But I was not
dead, I consoled myself; my physical body was sleeping peace-
fully under the blankets while I was apparently on my feet and
as good as before. Yet it wasn’t my accustomed self, it was as if
my mould was walking through a murky, heavy space which,
however, gave way easily before my emptiness.

“T had in this mould of mine transgressed into its native fourth
dimension, leaving its contents, so to speak, in the third . . . There
was this uncanny tape between us, like the umbilical cord, by
means of which the body on the bed was kept alive, while its
mould wandered about the flat through space which seemed as
dense as water. Indeed, in this extraordinarily light body walk-
ing seemed like wading through an unsteady sea.

“I staggered uncertainly to the door. I felt the handle, but to
my discomfiture I could not turn it; there was no grip in my
hand; it seemed unreal. Now, how will I get out? ... I was
pushed forward, the door passed through me, or I through the
door, with a marked absence of resistance . . . | caught a glimpse
of myself in the mirror as I passed into the bathroom. I looked
at my own double and I was dressed exactly as I had gone to bed.

“The only difference was a lack of weight and substance about
this body of my continuation. Avidly I went from room to room,
trying to collect what proof I could. I was alone in the flat, which
was in darkness except for the murky light which seemed to
emanate from my own body... . I could not hold anything in
my hand or displace the lightest of objects and all I could do
was to note carefully the position of things—which curtains were
open or drawn, the time by the clock in the dining-room, and
things of that sort; which all proved correct when I checked them
afterward.

“*... Suddenly this strange power . . . began to play pranks on

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me. I was being pushed up like a half-filled balloon. ‘Steady,
steady.’ I called to myself ...1 was being pushed out with a sort
of glee, right out of my flat. Out I flew through the front door and
hovered there in the air, a feeling of extraordinary lightness of
heart overtaking me. I knew that I could transport myself at will
had I now chosen to do so—to New York if I so wished. But a
feeling of caution intervened, of fear that something might hap-
pen on this long flight and sever my link with the sleeping body
to which I wanted to return if only to tell my astounding
experience.

_ “ ... My consciousness became dimmed. It seemed to me as
if a dozen coolies, among much screeching and throbbing, were
lowering with the utmost precaution under expert direction
from a noisy crane, which seemed to reverberate in my own
brain, some precious burden which was myself, into some vessel
which presently became myself . . . ‘Steady, steady’, that same
monitor who had directed my exploits seemed to be saying, and
then with a jerk which shook me as though the machinery
dropped into my bowels weighed a ton, I opened my eyes.”

Mr. Gerhardi continues: “Since then I have had four other
projections. On one of them I actually visited a friend at
Hastings and obtained irrefutable proof of having been in his
room. On another I visited relations of a friend living at Tun-
bridge Wells and described them to her accuracy, without my
ever having seen them before. On a third, I passed right through
a man walking on a lonely road at night. I have not, so far, met
a ghost ... It (projection) has no resemblance to dreaming. If
the whole world united in telling me it is a dream I would re-
main unconvinced ... ”

PROJECTS THROUGH TANK OF MOLTEN GLASS

Aside from his testimony that he has had out-of-the-body ex-
periences, which is our major interest, P. H., a theosophically
inclined student of Ohio, gives me some otherwise interesting

105

data. P. H. wants it distinctly understood that there is a differ-
ence between projection of the astral (desire) body and pro-
jection of the vital (force) body, maintaining that when pro-
jected in the vital body one has not yet passed through the atomic
web (described by Powell in his Etheric Double, page 63).

The vital body equals two-thirds etheric atoms and one-third
astral atoms, P. H. claims, while the astral body equals two-
thirds astral atoms and one-third etheric atoms.

“T often experience projections of the vital body while asleep.
I suddenly become conscious at some point quite distant from my
home, and have a very vivid clear-cut experience ... An adept
told me that one can pass from this state (conscious vital pro-
jection) onto the astral plane as follows: ‘Select some sub-
division of the astral, learn all you can about it—scenery,
occupants, etc. Visualize it as perfectly as possible. Next en-
soul it with all the desire force you can muster. Follow this
with a mighty wave of will power, at the same time affirming
positively that you enter and become an actor upon this
visualized astral plane.’

“When I try this I always lose consciousness and snap back
into my physical body again,” continues P.H. And in another
letter he continues the discussion: “I cannot control my pro-
jections and am not conscious of the actual separation, but
suddenly awaken at a certain place. | am then fully conscious,
able to turn around and walk about at will.

“I work in a glass factory and in one experience I went to
the factory and while there entered a tank of molten glass.
There was no ill effect...I always snap from projection to
full wakefulness in a flash... I am not aware of the action
of the astral cord . . . The only time I have fear is when falling.
.°.. A teacher of the Brahmin order to which I belong states
that we may know when we achieve true astral projection (as
opposed to vital projection) because when we have astral pro-
jection we will meet our twin soul or guardian who accompan-
ies us on all astral trips...’’

106

EXPERIMENTS OF OLIVER FOX

From Dr. Carrington’s /ntroduction in the book, The Pro-
jection of the Astral Body, | quote a few portions of his resumé
of the experiences of Mr. Oliver Fox who was the only person,
aside from myself, ever to give out any detailed, first-hand and
scientific directions for voluntary projection of the astral body,
at the time.

“Eighteen years ago, when I was a student at a technical
college, a dream impelled me to start my research. I dreamed
simply that I was standing outside my home. Looking down
I discovered that the paving stones had mysteriously changed
their position—the long sides were now parallel to the curb
instead of perpendicular to it.

“Then the solution flashed upon me: Though that glorious
summer morning seemed as real as real could be, I was dream-
ing. Instantly the vividness of life increased a hundredfold.
Never had sea and sky and trees shown with such glamorous
beauty; even the commonplace houses seemed alive and mysti-
cally beautiful. Never had I felt so absolutely well, so clear-
brained, so divinely powerful. The sensation was exquisit be-
yond words; but lasted only a few moments, and I awoke. As I
was to learn later, my mental control had been overwhelmed by
my emotions; so the tiresome body asserted its claim and pulled
me back. And now I had a wonderful new idea: Was it possible
to regain at will the glory of the dream? Could I prolong
my dreams?

““...In practise 1 found it one of the most difficult things
imaginable. A hundred times I would pass the most glaring
incongruities, and then at last some inconsistency would tell
me that I was dreaming; and always the knowledge brought
the change I have described. I found that I could do little tricks
at will—levitate, pass through seemingly solid walls, mould
matter into new forms, etc.; but in these early experiments I
could stay out of my body only for a very short time, and this

107

dream consciousness could be acquired only at intervals of sev-
eral weeks. To begin with, my progress was very slow; but
presently I made two more discoveries:

“1. The mental effect of prolonging the dream produced a
pain in the region of the pineal gland—dull at first, but rapidly
increasing in intensity—and I knew instinctively that this was a
warning to me to resist no longer the call of my body.

“2. In the last moments of prolonging the dream,.and while
I was subject to the above pain, I experienced a sense of dual
consciousness. I could feel myself standing in the dream and
see the scenery; but at the same time I could feel myself lying
in bed and see my bedroom.* As the call of the body became
stronger the dream-scenery became more faint; but by assert-
ing my will to remain dreaming, I could make the bedroom
fade and the dream-scenery regain its apparent solidity...”

' The thought then occurred to Mr. Fox: What would happen
if he were to disregard this pain and ‘force’ his dream-con-
sciousness still further? Not without some trepidation, he fi-
nally did so; a sort of click occurred in his brain, and he found
himself ‘locked out’ in his dream. He no longer seemed con-
nected with his physical body; the sense of dual consciousness
vanished; the ordinary sense of time likewise disappeared, and
he found himself free in a new world. This was his first con-
scious projection.

The projection lasted only a short time. Owing partly to
the utter sense of loneliness, he experienced a sort of panic and
instantly the same strange cerebral click was heard and Mr.
Fox found himself back in his physical body, completely
cataleptic. Gradually he regained control of his organism,
moving first one muscle, then another.

Mr. Fox then summed up the possible dangers connected
with the experiment and the chief characteristics of his astral

*The Dream Body is simply the Astral Body in a semi-conscious con-
dition. Mr. Fox was here having difficulty to bring the projected body
truly conscious.—S. M.

108

projection—how things appeared to him, his emotions, etc.
However, up to this time he had never had a projection with-
out a break in consciousness and felt that someone or something
was holding him back.

“It was like getting past the ‘Dweller on the Threshold.”
Then the solution of the problem suddenly occurred to him:
“I had to force my incorporeal self through the doorway of
the pineal gland, so that it clicked behind me... It was done,
when in the trance condition, simply by concentrating upon
the pineal gland and willing to ascend through it.

“The sensation was as follows: My incorporeal self rushed
to a point in the pineal gland and hurled itself against an
imaginary trap-door, while the golden light increased in brill-
iance, so that it seemed the whole room burst into flame. If
the impetus was insufficient to take me through, then the sen-
sation became reversed; my incorporeal self subsided and be-
came again coincident with my body, while the astral light
died down to normal.

“Often two or three attempts were required before I could
generate sufficient will power to carry me through. It felt as
though I were rushing to insanity and death—but once the
little door had clicked behind me, I enjoyed a mental clarity
far surpassing that of earth life. And fear was gone... Leaving
the body was then as easy as getting out of bed.”

(The reader must remember that this was a mental process
—an imaginary process if we speak in general terms and Mr.
Fox, with admirable scientific caution warns his readers against
taking what he says about the pineal gland too literal; but he
asserts that these were the exact sensations and he believes
that what he asserts is near the truth).

“This then was the climax of my research. I could now pass
from ordinary waking life into this new state of consciousness
or from life to death and return without a mental break. It is
easily written but it took fourteen years to accomplish!”

As Carrington states, Mr. Fox mentions three different methods

109

of locomotion in the astral body. The first of these is Hori-
zontal Gliding — “accomplished by purely mental effort.”
Usually this is easy but when the pull of the cord is felt it is
anything but effortless;—“it is as though one tugged against
a rope of very strong elastic.” Mr. Fox also states that when-
ever he was pulled back into the body, he had the sensation
of being drawn backwards into it.

The second method of locomotion is a variety of levitation,
very similar to the typical “flying dream.’ This he describes as
“easy and harmless.”

The third method he calls “Skrying” and in this he shot
upward, like a rocket, with great velocity. It is described as
difficult and dangerous. A typical experience of this sort is
given in the article.

As to the people encountered on his astral trips, Mr. Fox
notes a total absence of “elementals” or other terrifying beings
so often said to inhabit the Astral Plane; and the fact that he
is nearly always invisible to them... As to the scenery, this
was almost always similar to that seen on the earth, although
occasionally unfamiliar scenes were witnessed also.

Mr. Fox maintained that while projected he never could
see his physical body — although he could see his wife’s very
plainly. This fact has been pointed out to me often in the past
as evidence against the reality of his exteriorizations. While,
as I have pointed out, I am not resorting to explanations in this
present volume, there is nothing unusual about this fact what-
ever. There are many reasons why this could be true which, in
fact strengthen, rather than weaken, Mr. Fox’s account. In a

subsequent volume this will be fully explained.
BELIEVES RHYTHM ASSISTS PROJECTION

I mention briefly some points of possible interest taken from
my personal correspondence with a reliable London man,

C.B.W., who says:

“Of course I am just as fully convinced of the reality of astral

110

projection as you are, because I have had so many experiences
which are as real as my daily life . . . I hope I will be able
sometime to talk to you in person as I know you will be able
to throw much light on many of the problems I have met with.
..-One thing which puzzles me is that I only become con-
scious after I am projected to a considerable distance from
my body...”

C.B.W. gives in detail several seemingly incredible exper-
iences which I have filed away but cannot reproduce at this time,
claiming that he once visited a materialization seance and his
astral form took on materialization through a Jewish medium;
that he saw the ectoplasm, everything and everyone in the room:
that on one occasion he visited in Germany and again in India.

C. B. W. is convinced that when “out” he has had the unique
experience of seeing and hearing things going on in a specific
place through the physical organism of some mortal physically
present there! He further believes that his rhythmic dancing,
an art at which he spends much time, is somewhat of a motivat-
ing influence toward his projections.

“I believe that the transcendental experiences of which I
have told you are due in a great measure to my rhythmic in-
spirational dance movements, solo dances portraying all kinds
of music, also, of course, the higher classic. This, I believe sets
‘the etheric or astral or higher mental bodies in a rhythmic
vibration with cosmic matter and consequently has something
to do with one becoming spiritually conscious in these higher
cosmic vehicles ...”

It will probably be recalled by many readers that Dr. Steiner,
in some of his works, mentions the fact that rhythmic music
and movements are allied with the awakening of the higher
mental factors.

“My experiences are not dreams,” C.B.W. states, “or if they
are, I am also dreaming right now while I am writing you
these lines...”

Ill

PHANTOMS OF SELF

A reliable Bristol man L.A.T., who has held a position of
considerable responsibility, requiring level-headed management,
writes me (Sept. 10, 1936) about a very peculiar and unique
experience which occurred to him in 1933 and which he wrote
down in his diary at the time. He furnishes me with a copy of
the account from his diary, from which I here make a few brief
excerpts, for what they may be worth. While the subject says
nothing whatever concerning projection, it would appear that
in some manner his mind was exteriorized.

L.A.T. had been feeling ill with “flu” and awoke about four
o’clock one morning, obsessed with what he calls “an unfounded
fear.” He reached out, struck a match, and lighted the candle at
his bedside, at which time the fear left him. Now feeling at ease
he decided to put out the candle again and go to sleep.

“*..- But just then I seemed apart from the body on the bed
and had no sensation of my heart-beats or feeling of automatic
breathing.”

While apparently apart from the body on the bed, he states
that he seemed to know within himself that he could only keep
the body on the bed alive by voluntary breathing, which he
found very difficult.

“*_.- Then stranger still, a third ‘I’ made its appearance at
the foot of my bed! This ‘I’ at the foot of my bed was fully
dressed, except for a hat. I knew it too was ‘I,’ but a new ‘I’...
This ‘I’ seemed to be a new resurrection of myself!”

L.A.T. elaborates upon his sensations, emotions, and observa-
tions, which I omit, and states that the experience took place
while the candle was burning. His experience is very difficult
to set forth clearly, but he says: “The real thinking ‘I’ appeared
to be only ‘mind’ observing what was taking place, from a point

to the right of the body on the bed...”

12

PROJECTION OR CLAIRVOYANCE?

Although Mrs. Sidgwick — who never had an out-of-the-body
experience, and consequently knew nothing about the various
stages of consciousness during projection — has set down the
following case as supporting clairvoyance; I am of the opinion
that this was a real projection of the astral body in a semi-
conscious state. However the reader may judge for himself. The
case is unusual: A lady believes she left her body and visited her
sleeping husband, miles at sea. Curiously enough, at the same
time, the husband, dreamed she visited him! And—believe it or
not—at the same time a third party saw the phantom lady on
the visit!

Mr. S. R. Wilmot sailed from Liverpool to New York, passing
through a severe storm. During the eighth night of the storm he
had a dream in which he saw his wife come to the door of the
stateroom. She looked about and seeing that her husband was
not the only occupant of the room, hesitated a little, then ad-
vanced to his side, stooped down and kissed him, and after
gently caressing him for a few moments, quietly withdrew.

Upon awakening from this dream, Mr. Wilmot was surprised
to hear his fellow passenger, Mr. William J. Tait, say to him:
“‘You’re a pretty fellow to have a lady come and visit you in
this way.”

Pressed for an explanation, Mr. Tait related what he had seen
while wide awake, lying in his berth. It exactly corresponded
with the dream of Mr. Wilmot!

When meeting his wife in Watertown, Conn. Mr. Wilmot was
almost immediately asked by her: “Did you receive a visit from
me a week ago Tuesday.”

Although Mr. Wilmot had been more than a thousand miles
at sea on that particular night, his wife asserted: “Jt seemed to
me that I visited you.” She told her husband that on account
of the severity of the weather and the reported loss of another
vessel, she had been extremely anxious about him. On the night

113

of the occurrence she had lain awake for a long time and at about
four o'clock in the morning it seemed to her that she left her
physical self and went out to seek her husband, crossing the
stormy sea until she came to his stateroom.

She continued: “A man was in the upper berth, looking right
at me, and for a moment I was afraid to go in; but soon I went
up to the side of your berth, bent down and kissed you, and
embraced you, and went away.”

A CONSCIOUS PETER IBBETSON

A highly educated and practical professional lady of New
York tells me that:

“The moment your most instructive book was published, I
bought it, as I was very interested in learning of the experiences
of others, aside from myself, in leaving the physical body. I have
had the experience several times in my life.

“... The first time, I was conscious the moment I was out
of my body. The first thought I had was ‘I am dead’...I too
found that when I stood too close to my physical I was forcibly
drawn back into it. While I was unconscious as I passed in, I
was conscious again immediately afterward and was very curious
to know how it had happened.

«|. When I was a student in London I used on Sundays to
lock myself in my studio and then throw myself on my couch
and leave my body at will, and could roam about where I
pleased .. .”

This incident brings to mind the time honored novel Peter
Ibbetson, by du Maurier. In the story, Peter knows how to dream
true. He lies flat on his back with his hands clasped under his
neck at the base of the skull, and crossing one leg over the other,
goes to sleep — and dreams true. There is a slight analogy here
to the dreaming true of projection, discussed elsewhere, and one
wonders how much du Maurier really knew about the matter.
But, to get back to our correspondent, who goes on to say:

114

“T also used to travel through the air, even out in the country,
as does an aeroplane. This travelling was with great speed . . . I
could wander (consciously) through the house and watch others
although they could not see me... Of recent years I have not
done this consciously, except now and then while sleeping at

night...”
AN ENTIRELY CONSCIOUS PROJECTION

For reasons pointed out in the Preface, I quote but one per-
sonal experience, and this because it gives a very clear picture
of a conscious, from beginning to end, projection. This was in
fact my initial projection and while it occurred twenty-one years
ago, it was written down at the time and subsequently printed in
detail. It was this experience which started me on my investiga-
tions in this particular field of psychical research.

I dozed off to sleep one night about ten-thirty o’clock in a
perfectly natural manner, and slept several hours. At length I
realized that I was slowly awakening, yet could not seem to drift
back into slumber nor further arouse. In this bewildering stupor
I knew (within myself) that I existed somewhere, in a powerless,
silent, dark and feelingless condition.

Still I was conscious — a very unpleasant contemplation of
being. I repeat again: I was aware that I existed, but where I
could not seem to understand. My memory would not tell me...
I thought I was awakening from natural sleep—but could not
seem to proceed. There was but one dominating thought in my
mind. Where was I?

Gradually — it seemed an aeon of time, but in reality it was
a short interval — I became conscious of the fact that I was
lying somewhere. These few half-clear thoughts brought others
in their train, and shortly I seemed to know that I was reclining
upon a bed, but still bewildered as to my exact location. I tried
to move, to determine my whereabouts, only to find I was power-
less — as if adhered to that on which I rested.

115

Eventually the feeling of adhesion relaxed but was replaced
by another sensation, equally as unpleasant—that of floating.
At the same time my entire body (I thought it was my physical,
but it was not) commenced vibrating at a high rate of speed
in an up-and-down direction. Simultaneously I could feel a tre-
mendous pulling pressure in the back of my head... This pres-
sure was very impressive and came in regular spurts, the force
of which seemed to pulsate my whole being.

All this was to me like some queer nightmare in total dark-
ness, for, of course, I knew not what was taking place. Amid this
pandemonium of bizarre sensations — floating, vibrating, zig-
zagging and head-pulling, I began to hear somewhat familiar and
seemingly far-distant sounds. My sense of hearing was beginning
to function. I tried to move, but still could not, as if in the grip
of some powerful cryptic directing force.

No sooner had my sense of hearing come into being than that
of sight followed. When able to see, I was more than astonished.
No words could possibly explain my wonderment. I was floating!
I was floating in the very air a few feet above the bed. The room,
my exact location, was now comprehended. Things seemed hazy.
at first, but were becoming clearer. I knew well where I was,
but could not account for my strange behavior.

Slowly ...I was moving toward the ceiling, all the while
lying horizontal and powerless. Naturally I believed that this
was my physical body as I had always known it, but that it had
mysteriously begun to defy gravity. It was too unnatural for me
to understand, yet too real to deny, for being conscious and quite
able to see, I had no reason to question my sanity.

Involuntarily, at about six feet above the bed, as if the move-
ment had been conducted by an invisible intelligent force,
present in the very air, I was uprighted from the horizontal posi-
tion, to the perpendicular, and placed standing upon the floor
of the room... where I remained for two or three minutes, still
unable to move of my own accord.

Then the unknown controlling force relaxed. I felt free, notic-

116

ing only the tension in the back of my head. I took a step, when
the pressure increased for an interval and threw my body out
at an acute angle. I managed to turn around. There were two
of me! In the name of common sense — there were two of me!
There was another “me” lying quietly upon the bed. It was
difficult to conceive of this being real — but there I was, fully
conscious, fully able to reason and know what I saw was actual.

The next thing which caught my eye, explained the curious
sensation in the back of my head — for my two identical bodies
were joined by means of an elastic-like cord, one end of which
was fastened to the medulla oblongata region of my phantom
counterpart, while the other end centered between the eyes of
my physical counterpart. This cord extended across the space
of probably six feet which separated us. All this time I was
having difficulty to keep my balance, swaying first to one side,
then to the other.

Ignorant of the true significance of my condition, my first
thought on seeing this spectacle was that I had died during
sleep. I made my way, struggling under the magnetic pull of the
cord, to where the consanguineous earthly beings lay asleep in
another room, hoping to awaken them and let them know of this
awful plight. I attempted to open the door, but found myself
passing through it. Another miracle to my already aston-
ished mind!

Going from one room to another I tried fervently to arouse
the sleeping occupants of the mouse = put my hands passed
through them as if they were but vapors .- . All of my senses
seemed normal, save that of touch. I could not make “touchable”
contact with things as formerly. An automobile passed the
house; I could see it and hear it plainly. After a while the clock
struck two, and looking, I saw it registering that hour.

I began to walk about the place still more, filled with the
anxiety that morning would come and that then those sleepers
would awaken and see me...After about fifteen minutes, I
noticed a pronounced increase in the resistance of the cord...

117

I began to zigzag again under its force, and found, presently,
that I was being pulled backward toward my physical body.
Again I found myself powerless to move. Again I was in the
grip of the powerful unseen directing power . .. and was resum-
ing the horizontal position, directly over the bed. It was the
reverse procedure of that which I had experienced when rising
from the bed. Slowly the phantom lowered, vibrating again as
it did so. Then it dropped suddenly, coinciding with the physical
counterpart once more. At this moment of coincidence, every
muscle in the physical organism jerked, and a penetrating pain
— as if I had been split open from head to foot — shot through
me...I was physically alive again, filled with awe, as amazed
as fearful, and I had been conscious throughout the entire

SEES THOUGHT-FORMS WHILE PROJECTED

It is now a fairly well established belief among many that
thought itself can take on form, which, although not visible to
the normal physical eye, is best described as being like a dim
mist, evolved from the human mind and exteriorized from the
individual. Possibly these thought-forms are what puzzle L. G. T.,
who does not care to have his name mentioned since he is a
dependable professional man of Piccadilly, London. He writes
me as follows:

“*... 1 have been using your book more or less as a text book
in my own experiences and experiments which I have conducted
over a period of two and one half years ... I have been working
alone ... and rather in the dark. I do not like to run unnecessary
risks, being a family man, and have no one even to talk to who
believes or knows anything about this subject...”

He continues: “I believe my case is rather unusual. My pro-
jections have always been entirely conscious and voluntary and
never happen after sleep, but always just as I am going to sleep,
either during the day or at night ...I do not seem to be able to

118

get beyond the point I have now reached .. . Also I am not often
able to check up on what I see while projected because I do not
know anyone interested and do not like to broach the subject
for obvious reasons .. .”

“On several occasions,” L. G. T. continues, “/ have noticed
that when one is in the astral — thought becomes fact; that is,
what I often see is really not there, but seems to be a materiliza
tion of the thoughts of the person present there at the time.

“... The getting out process is exactly as you describe it and
is always most vivid and comes to me usually within five minutes
of lying down. I can have the experiences say every two or three
days and have written down the accounts of many of them .. .”

AN EXPERIENCE OF CROMWELL VARLEY

It is needless for me to identify Cromwell Fleetwood Varley
to my readers in England. But for the information of others I
briefly state that he was an English scientist of note, an electrical
engineer and the son of Cornelius Varley who was equally as
well known.

An inventor of note too, Cromwell Varley invented many
ingenious electrical instruments and contributed largely to the
success of the second Atlantic cable, after the failure of the first.

Before the Dialectical Society in the year 1869, Varley nar-
rated a veritable case of exteriorization, which occurred to him-
self. I am indebted to Dr. Nandor Fodor for the account.

Varley was ill, suffering from spasms of the throat, which
had been brought on from the fumes of fluoric acid which he
used extensively in his scientific work. It was recommended
that he have sulphuric ether handy at his bedside to assist
breathing in case of a throat spasm.

By smelling of the ether he procured instant relief, but the
odour was so unpleasant that he turned to using chloroform.
One night he rolled onto his back, the sponge — saturated
with chloroform — remaining in his mouth. His wife, Mrs.

119

Varley, was in a room upstairs, nursing a sick child. Says
Varley in his account before the Dialectical Society:

“After a little I became unconscious. | saw my wife upstairs
and I saw myself on my back with the sponge in my mouth,
but was utterly powerless to cause my body to move. I made by
my will a distinct impression on her brain that I was in danger.
Thus aroused, she came downstairs and immediately removed
the sponge and was greatly alarmed.

“I then used my body to speak to her and I said: ‘I shall
forget all about it and how this came to pass unless you remind
me in the morning, but be sure and tell me what made you come
down and J shall then be able to recall the circumstance.’

“The following morning she did so, but I could not re-
member anything about it; I tried hard all day, however, and
at length I succeeded in remembering first a part and ultim-
ately the whole experience.”

PROJECTED 83 YEARS AGO

It is only through the kind co-operation of my friend James
W. Freeman, associate editor of Who’s Who in America, in
loaning me the book, that I have been enabled to reproduce
the out of the body experience of Daniel D. Home, which I
quote in abridged form. The volume, long out of print, entitled
Incidents in My Life was published about seventy-five years ago.

In the summer of 1853 — eighty-three years ago — Home,
then a lad of twenty, was in America, residing as a boarder at
the Theological Institute at Newbury, on the Hudson. One
evening he had gone to bed, pondering on what the world calls
death when, “an inner perception was quickened within me,
till at last, reason was as active as when I was wide awake. I,
with vivid distinctness, remember of questioning myself whether
I was asleep or not; when, to my amazement, I heard a voice
which seemed so natural, that my heart bounded with joy as I
recognized it as the voice of one who, while on earth, was far

120

too pure for such a world as ours, and who, in passing to that
brighter home, had promised to watch over and protect me .. .

“She said: ‘Fear not, Daniel, I am near you; the vision you
are about to have is that of death — yet you will not die. Your
spirit must again return to your body in a few hours. Trust in
God . .. all will be well.’ Here the voice became lost, and I
felt as one who at noonday is struck blind; as he would cling
even to the last memories of the sunlight, so I would fain have
clung to material existence, not that I felt any dread of passing
away, nor that I doubted for a moment the words of my guard-
ian angel, but I feared I had been over-presumptuous in desir-
ing knowledge, the very memory of which might shake my
future life.

“This was but momentary, for almost instantly came rushing
with a fearful rapidity memories of the past; my thoughts
bore the resemblance of realities, and every action appeared as
an eternity of existence. During the whole time, I was aware
of a benumbing and chilling sensation which stole over my body,
but the more inactive my nervous system became, the more
active was my mind, till at length I felt as if I had fallen from
the brink of some fearful precipice, and as I fell, all became
obscure, and my whole body became one dizzy mass, only kept
alive by a feeling of terror, until sensation and thought simul-
taneously ceased, and I knew no more.

“How long I lay thus I know not, but soon I felt that I was
about to awaken in a most dense obscurity; terror had now
given place to pleasurable feeling, accompanied by a certitude
of someone dearly loved being near me, yet invisible. It then
occurred to me that the light of the spheres must necessarily be
more effulgent than our own, and I pondered whether or not
the sudden change from darkness to light might not prove
painful, for instinctively I realized that beyond the surround-
ing obscurity lay an ocean of silver-toned light.

“TI was at this instant brought to a consciousness of light by
121

seeing the whole of my nervous system,” as it were, composed
of thousands of electrical scintillations, which here and there,
as in the created nerve, took the form of currents, darting their
rayons over the whole body in a manner most marvellous; still,
this was but a cold electrical light, and besides, it was external.

“Gradually, however, I saw that the extremities were less
luminous, and the finer membranes surrounding the brain be-
came, as it were glowing, and I felt that thought and action were
no longer connected with the earthly tenement, but that they
were in my spirit body — in every respect similar to the body
which I knew to be mine — which I now saw lying motionless
before me on the bed.

“The only link which held the two forms together seemed
to be a silvery-like light, which proceeded from the brain; and,
as if it were a response to my earlier waking thoughts, the same
voice, only that it was now more musical than before, said:
“Death is but a second birth, corresponding in every respect to
the natural birth, and should the uniting link now be severed,
you could never again enter the body. As I told you, however
— this will not be... Be very calm for in a few moments you
will see us all, but do not touch us; be guided by the one who
is appointed to go with you, for I must remain by your body.’

“It now appeared to me that I was waking from a dream of
darkness to a sense of light — but such a glorious light! Never
did earthly sun shed such rays, strong in beauty, soft in love,
warm in life-giving glow. As my last idea of earthly light was
the reflex of my own body, so now this heavenly light came from
those I saw standing about me. Yet the light was not of their
creating, but was shed upon them from a higher source, which
only seemed the more adorable . . . to shower every blessing
on the creatures of creation. And now I was bathed in light
and about me was those for whom I had sorrowed . . . One that I

*Davis makes a similar statement in The Magic Staff, p 217
122

had never known on earth then drew near to me and said: ‘You
will come with me, Daniel.’

“I could only reply that it was impossible for me to move, in-
asmuch as I could not feel that my nature had a power over my
new spirit body. To this he replied: ‘Desire and you will accom-
plish your desires which are not sinful—desires being as prayers
to the Divinity.’

“For the first time I now looked to see what substantiated my
body, and found that it was but a purple tinted cloud! AsI desir-
ed to go onward with my guide, the cloud appeared as if dis-
turbed by a gentle breeze, and in its movements I was wafted up-
ward until I saw the earth as a vision, far below us.

“Soon I found that we had drawn nearer the earth and were
just hovering over a cottage that I had never seen. I saw the
inmates but had never met any of them in life. The walls
of the cottage were not the least obstruction to my sight—they
were only as if constructed of a dense body of air, perfectly
transparent . . ..I perceived that the inmates were asleep and
I saw various spirits watching over the sleepers.”

In the original account Home tells other things he witnessed
and continues: “ . . . I was deeply interested in all this, when my
guide said; ‘We must now return.’ When I found myself near
my physical body, I turned to the one who had remained near
it and said:

“Why must I return so soon, for it can be but a few moments
I have been with you, and I would fain see more and remain
here longer?”

“ “It is now many hours,’ she replied, ‘since you came to us;
but here we take no cognizance of time, and as you are here in
spirit, you too have lost this knowledge. We would have you
with us, but this must not be at present. Return to earth, love
your fellow creatures, love truth, and in so doing you will serve
God who careth for and loveth all. May the father of mercies
bless you Daniel!” ”

“]T heard no more, but seemed to sink as in a swoon, until

123

consciousness was merged into a feeling that earth with all its
trials lay before me, and that I . . . must bear my cross... And
I opened my eyes to material things . . . My limbs were so dead
that at least half an hour elapsed before I could reach the bell-
rope to bring anyone to my assistance, and it was only by con-
tinued friction that, at the end of an hour, I had sufficient force
to enable me to stand upright.”

Home stated that he had been out of his body eleven hours.
“I merely give these facts as they occurred,” he concluded,
“letting others comment upon them as they may. I have only to
add, that nothing could ever convince me that this was an
illusion or a delusion...”

SOME MISCELLANEOUS CASES

A few miscellaneous items concerning the subject which
appeared in the Occult Review shortly after the publication of
The Projection of the Astral Body, and elsewhere will fit in
nicely here. Of especial interest to this writer is the following
testimonial:

“I have read The Projection of the Astral Body, which has
cleared up a considerable number of experiences that I have
had ... / have succeeded in a projection ... Having myself now
had one, in full possession of all my faculties, which was as
real to me as my normal life, anything said to the contrary
would make little difference as far as I am concerned... ”

Signed, J. P. J. Chapman.

This writer has received many many letters similar to the fore-
going, most of them going into great detail, but, strange as it
may seem, the writers fear having their experiences found out.
They fear ridicule from their friends and business associates.
So great is their dread of ever having anyone know they were
out of their body, since such an occurrence seems unthinkable

124

to the average person, that they will not even allow me to quote
their experience. One thing, at least, can be said in favor of this
fear, it strongly indicates sincerity on the part of the corres-
pondents, and certainly eliminates the argument that they are
trying to get their names before the public.

L. F. of Taranaki, New Zealand writes:* “. .. It is now over 20
years since I first became interested in Spiritism and decided
to sit for development. This is the account of what happened:
Twice a week at 7:30 I would go alone into the sitting room,
get the easiest chair, and just let my body relax, and say to
myself, ‘now if anyone or anything comes to interfere with you,
I will be there instantly.’

“Then resting easy, with eyes closed, one would presently
feel them turn up and inward. At this stage one would feel
as if the body were non-existent and the mind quicker in every
way. One would feel no chair nor anything else; yet if any-
one came into the room one would be aware-if they spoke. I
might have answered with an effort, but it was apt to break
conditions.

“Still keeping that state a little longer, it suddenly seemed as
if the whole house would disappear and I found myself outside.
Then I would say: ‘I'll just have a look around,’ and (in my
subtle body) make for a gate on the other side of the little field
.. - After crossing the field, there was no need for me to open
the gate. How I knew this, I do not know. I would pass right
through! After about three chains more I would find myself
saying: ‘Now Louie, you have just begun these sittings—better
not go too far just yet.’

After that I would find myself back in my physical body
and much awake. That happened a good many times—just the

*Occult Review.
125

same spot reached. Yet I knew I could will myself to go on if I
had dared. It must have been fear that kept me back ... I drop-
ped the practise for three months, then could not do it again.”

+ &£ # & &

An excerpt from an article Native Psychism in South Africa
by I. Toye Warner-Staples, F. R. S. A. reads:*

“, .. Another curious case of deep trance occurred to a
Basuto evangelist, the Rev. Walter Matiti, who told his con-
gregation on the Reef that fourteen years previous he had been
very ill and died. At least, so thought his friends at the time,
as his heart had ceased to beat. He saw his (physical) body
stretched out on a mat, and a group of men and women weeping
around it.

“All of the events of his life were presented to him and his
spirit guide told him to repair the evils he had done. He saw
various countries and the coast of Africa as he passed over
them with his guide. He was told to preach to every tribe,
irrespective of creed, and after the trance ended and he returned
to (physical) consciousness he could speak many languages! ”

»
*e# @# @ & @

Here is an absorbing though brief case where the astral and
mental bodies (Theosophically speaking) were exteriorized
according to the subject.*

“Some time back,” writes A. R. D., “I found myself outside
of my body, looking at it. I then wished to know how one got
out and in, etc. Then one night I again found myself out, and
saw my astral come out, gather itself together, hover over the
physical, and float out of the room through the closed window.

“‘I—my mental self, I suppose—then joined it and seemed

*Ibid
126

to feel a friend was waiting for me. We rose high and soared all
about the town. We then entered a door, and went through the
rooms. | said, ‘Why this is my house,’ and laughed until I was
awake. A friend had told me that getting out of and into the
body was painful. This I could not believe. I fancy the ex-
perience was to satisfy myself. I have not done it again con-
sciously ...”

+ &# & & &

This curious case, reported by Myers in Human Personality
appears to indicate that the mentality, the actual consciousness
does at times slip out of its physical abode unknown to the sub-
ject. I reproduce the written statement of the subject in question,
Mrs. Stone, who says:

“When about nine or ten years old I was sent to school in
Dorchester as a day border. It was there I had my first curious
experience that I clearly remember. I was in an upper room in
the school standing with some others in a class opposite our
teacher Miss Mary Lock.

“Suddenly I found myself by her side, and, looking toward
the class saw my (physical) self distinctly—a slim, pale girl, in
a hite frock and pinafore. I felt a strong anxiety to get back,
as it were, but it seemed a violent and painful effort, almost
struggle when accomplished.”

It will be recalled that Mr. Wills in his account mentioned
of looking over the dentist’s shoulder into his own mouth. A
strikingly similiar testimony.

e+ tt & #

J. Arthur Hill, in Man is Spirit, tells of a Miss Hinton who,
at the age of seventeen, was put under chloroform in order that
some of her teeth might be removed. Her return to conscious.
ness was delayed, resulting in much alarm, but when she did

127

awaken she said that she had been above her physical body,
around which those present were gathered, and that she had

tried without success, to talk to them. Supposing herself dead
she wondered why she was not being judged!

e *# # @ @

Again there was the case of Dr. George Wyld. He had been
inhaling chloroform to allay the pain of passing a small renal
calculus, when he was astonished to find himself clothed, poss-
eased of normal reasoning faculties, and standing about two
yards away observing his own motionless physical form upon
the bed.

He was enabled to understand the significance of the revel-
ation while standing there and later learned that others were able
to corroborate his experience, which brought him to the con-
clusion that sensation is centered in the subtle body and that
the effect of an anesthetic is to drive that body out of its physical
shell, thus rendering the latter incapable of feeling pain.

#? &@ & &

In Light, Miss Gibbs tells a unique story which originally
came from Miss Dallas who can vouch for the accuracy of it.
While it is true that other explanations besides that of projec-
tion of the astral body, can be put forth, certainly none
are more appropriate. However, we will not argue the matter,
I offer the incident merely as evidence. Simply stated it is this:

A certain man, whom we will call A—, had been visiting at
a country parsonage. After he left the place, other guests arrived.
They held a circle with the table. The table announced that it
was being moved by A—, the man who had formerly been visit-
ing the place. He (A—’s, projected astral self which was sup-
posed to be moving the table) was asked many questions, and
he replied, giving the sitters the knowledge that he had been

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out shooting in the afternoon and had been playing billiards
with his father in the evening! He stated that ‘his soul’ was with
them at the parsonage, but his body was at home!

On communicating with A—, physically, later, the incident
was confirmed, and he added: “After playing billiards I lay
down on the couch, in the billiard and dreamed that I was back
in the parsonage.*

# @ &@ &

The Rev. W. Maitland (ibid) tells of the experiences of two
clergymen in his neighborhood:

“Firstly, a rector in Norfolk, a man possessed of very con-
siderable psychic power. He has often manifested the power
of astral projection. He once spent some time in a Retreat in
London, during which time he was cut off from all contact with
the outside world, even to the extent of seeing no newspapers.

“On his last night in the Retreat, this man became aware that
he had left his material body. He found himself in what he knew
must be a large Northern town. He made his way to what he
knew was the goal, entered it and went straight to the condemned
cell, where he felt his spiritual work was to bring help to the
soul of the man who was to be executed early next morning.

“The following day, the Rector, on leaving the Retreat, bought
a newspaper and was at once confronted with the account of the
criminal’s execution at 8 a. m. that morning in Newcastle Goal.”

“Second, we have a country rector who has been in close
communication with the spirit-world for many years ... He
belongs to no Spiritualistic Society, and takes no Spiritualistic
papers—it has just been forced upon him through the medium-
ship of himself and his family. He told me he had the experience

*In this connection see, The Projection of the Astral Body; also my
article, The Crypto-Conscious Mind and Telekinesis, (Occult Review
March-April 1930)

129

of leaving his body, especially when suffering acute pain, as he
often does, and that his wife has similar powers...”

Do animals have a subtle body which can be exteriorized? A
rather curious case which might be considered to come within
the bounds of testimony for projection was reported by M. D.
of Sydney, Australia, in The Harbinger of Light. Briefly, M. D.’s
story is that on going to England she paid a visit to the well
known psychic photographer, Mr. Hope, of Crewe, and sat for
a photograph.

“The result of the sitting was a photo of myself with two
extras surrounded by a cloudy mist in the background. The
one—a recently passed over relative (in New South Wales) and
easily recognized ;—the other a small dog’s face, partly showing.
Besides these two extras there is a perfect shadow form of a silky
terrior poised on my shoulder—quite different in effect to the
solid looking forms of the extras.”

M. D. states that on going to London she obtained a sitting
with a well known medium, where a deceased relative who had
appeared on the picture communicated with her. He gave his
name, and told her how glad he had been that he was enabled
to show himself. Regarding the two dogs which appeared on the
photo, the communicator stated that one of them was Lassie who
had predeceased him.

As to the other one, it was Bully—a dog still living in the flesh.
The communicator asked M. D. to tell his widow Flo that he had
stolen Bully while the latter was asleep. In other words we are
told that while this earthly dog, Bully, was sleeping, a disem-
bodied spirit took out the astral body of this dog and it appeared
with him on the spirit picture.

“The remarkable part of the picture is the difference in form
between Lassie and Bully,” M. D. continues. The former, having

130

died is solid looking, and the latter (still alive) is shadowlike.
Bully’s foot was twisted in an accident some years ago. The
defect shows in the photograph!”

While attending a seance in South Africa, Dr. Hegy, author
of A Witness Through the Ages, inquired if it would be possible
for him to communicate, through the Mediun, with the spirit
of someone still living on earth. He was informed that it could
be done, and at the next seance, sure enough—two ghosts of the
living were announced. The first stated that he was a convict
serving time in England.

The second communicator told Dr. Hegy that he lived in
London and was a bricklayer, though unemployed. He gave
his full name and address and told the Doctor that he was and
had been in ill health. He informed him that he had broken a
leg and as a result walked with a limp; that he was also blind in
one eye. He even asked Dr. Hegy his opinion on the case and
inquired concerning the treatment he had received at the hospital.

Dr. Hegy wrote to the London address given him by the
apparent ghost of a living man, but received no reply. Time
passed. Two years ago, Dr. Hegy, while in London, went to the
address where he found the man, whose spirit was supposed
to have communicated with him, and discovered that he not
only walked with a limp but that every other detail given at the
seance in South Africa—three pages in all—was absolutely
correct. The letter had also been received by the man, but the
latter had been too awed to answer it!

*& &@ &@ &@ &

In March 1930, a lady living in Boston wrote a letter to Dr.
Carrington which was passed on to me by the latter. While con-
taining nothing startling, and merely another person vouching
for the reality of astral projection, | quote a fragment from her
message which sets forth how her experiences came about:

“I wanted to stop after your Ford Hall lecture last Sunday

131

and tell you how much I enjoyed it, but there were too many
ahead of me . . . I was particularly interested in what you told
us about the young man who had experiences in projecting the
astral body.

“It is the first time I ever heard my own experiences dup-
licated—though he went further than I . . . I happened upon this
(projection) by chance, I suppose, as a result of sleepless nights.
I found that by drawing the sense of vision back into the brain
and looking at the inside of my face, I could drop off to sleep
and watch myself reach the extreme edge. A few years of this
and I occasionally went over consciously.

“« . . . I could never do anything with the Peter Ibbetson
method . . . But I did hear the President of the Theosophical
Society say, in a lecture he gave some years ago here in Boston
that the proper position to take was on one’s back, chin in,
ankles crossed and hands also, hands over the solar plexus, right
over the left if left handed and vise versa. My own position was
entirely different and perhaps less successful for that reason.
I always found more heart discomfort on my back. . .”

* &#@ & & &

Speaking as I did in the preceding account of merely another
person vouching for the reality of astral projection, I am re-
minded that Vout Peters often told a story of how a mortal friend
of his was able to materialize through a medium and appear
to him; and no less a personage than William T. Stead has
related a similiar incident; while the great Emanuel Sweden-
borg claimed to have made many many trips out of his body. D.
D. Home appeared to Count and Countess Tolstoy at a railway
station, three hours before his actual arrival.

* & & & &

Then again, Professor Schiller in a report published in the S.
P. R. Journal—which he too vouches for—tells of a lady in a

132

home suffering from mental derangement and extreme old age,
who is able to communicate with relatives very sanely through
a medium, while at the same time she seemed to realize she would:
be mentally unsound on returning to the physical body!

+ &t& & & &

A missionary in Africa narrated the following which is quoted
by Dr. Paul Joire in Psychical and Supernormal Phenomena:

“A Ugema Uzago chief of the tribe Jabikou, threw himself
into a state of catalepsy, after a magical ceremony, before the
missionary, so he would be enabled to attend a meeting of the
disciples of the Master on the Yemvi plateau—a distance of
four days’ walk.

“The missionary asked him to deliver a message on his way,
to a black merchant in the village of Ushong—a distance of
three days by foot. On awakening from his cataleptic state
Ugema Uzago declared that he had delivered the message. Three
days later the black merchant appeared and declared that Ugema
knocked at his door in the night and as he did not open, shouted
in the message of the missionary!”

+ & & & &

The ever popular editor, Ernest W. Oaten, in a letter to me
dated September 7, 1936, makes the casual comment that, “I am
keenly interested in (projection) as I have had many such exper-
iences myself. I have frequently projected the double, and dis-
covered incidents which were going on many miles from me.
I have further appeared to my wife and my brother, not by pre-
arrangement, but quite spontaneously and by my own definite

act of will...”
* &@ He & &

Eugene Osty tells of a case narrated by M. Charles Quarter in
which he saw his own body, apparently lifeless, hanging in a

133

dangerous position on the sofa. He, in spirit, tried to lift up
his physical self but was quite unable to do so; so he decided
to go and ask his mother to help. The mother was at the time
involved in a conversation and stopped short saying: “I believe
my son is calling me!” Needless to say, the son interiorized
again.

* @#@ &@ @ @

Mr. Brackett, the author of Materialized Apparitions tells us
that he has seen hundreds of materialized forms and “in many
cases I have seen the ethereal body of the medium also, so like
him that I would have sworn that it was the medium, had I not
seen his double dematerialize in my presence and afterward
assured myself that he was asleep ...”

The present author pointed out in his former work that the
form seen in materialization seances is often, without doubt, the
exteriorized astral body of the medium. At that time I also wrote:

“T am acquainted with an old occultist, Carl Pfuhl, who told
me that, on one occasion, a little girl who was sleeping in a
hammock, outside the seance room . . . materialized and claimed
to be the daughter of a member of the circle—who had a
daughter about the same age who had passed away. Yet the
form seen was that of the girl sleeping in the hammock outside,
and had not been in any way transformed to represent the girl
she claimed to be. The girl who slept in the hammock knew
nothing of it, on awakening . . . We know that thought can affect
the form of the astral body, and it might be just possible that
some spirit wishing to manifest could possibly impress the
unconscious form of the astral body into its own likeness.’ ’ This
is, however, purely speculative, and not offered as evidence for
projection, but merely as an interesting suggestion.

Incidentally, Sir William Crookes, made a similar obser-
vation, and in writing of experiments with Mrs. Fay, the medium,
said:

“|. . The curtain was withdrawn sufficient for me to see the

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person who held it (his book) out to me. It was the form of Mra.
Fay completely (whom Crookes had under electric test control)
and at this moment the galvanic current did not register the
slightest interruption ...”

FAMOUS AUTHOR VISITS ETERNITY

One of the most astonishing out-of-the-body adventures was
that of William Dudley Pelley, the famous American author.
Mr. Pelley’s story of his projection first appeared in the Amer-
ican Magazine of March 1929, where, it is estimated almost
ten million people read it, before it later was reproduced in
a handsome little brocture entitled, “Seven Minutes in Eternity

—With Their Aftermath.” *

Almost immediately letters by the thousands were received by
Mr. Pelley, from all sections of America and England and from
all classes of persons. Hundreds claimed to have had similar
experiences. Over 144 sermons were known to have been made
by clergymen concerning the experience; and a fact which par-
ticularly astonished Mr. Pelley was that out of all the resulting
mail, less than 24 of the communications derided him.

I cannot more than touch upon the experience here and I
most heartily urge all of my readers to read the entire fascinating
account. Prior to the occurrence, Mr. Pelley was a case-hard-
ened Materialist. He retired one evening in April 1928, at his
bungalow in the Sierra Madre Mountains near Pasadena, Cal-
ifornia, feeling quite normal in every respect.

“But between three and four in the morning, a ghastly inner
shriek seemed to tear through my somnolent consciousness. In
despairing horror I wailed to myself: ‘I’m dying! I’m dying!’
What told me, I don’t know. Some uncanny instinct had been
unleashed in slumber to awaken and apprise me . . . a physical

* Collier
135

sensation which I can best describe as a combination of heart
attack and apoplexy.

“Mind you, I say physical sensation. This was not a dream.
I knew that something had happened either to my heart or
head—or both—and that my conscious entity was at the mercy
of forces over which I had no control .

The author tells how he plunged dew a mystic depth of
blue space in his phantom body, while queer noises sang in his
ears, and he said to himself: “So this is death ... My dead body

may lie in this lonely house for days before anyone discovers it.”

Next he found himself whirling madly and had the same sen-
sation which he had once experienced when in an airplane which
went into a tailspin; but at this juncture two persons—in spirit
—came to his assistance, one of them saying: “Take it easy old
man. Don’t be alarmed. You’re all right. We’re here to help you.”

The two spirit friends carried him in their arms and laid him
on a beautiful marble-slab pallet where they stood over his
nude (astral) body until he had regained his strength. They
smiled knowingly at his confusion and chagrin, and exchanged
good-humored glances as they told him not to try to see every-
thing in the first seven minutes.

Of especial interest is the way in which his astral body became
clothed. His friends told him to bathe in a pool near the portico.
He did so . . . “And here is one of the strangest incidents of
the whole adventure . .. When I came up from the bath I was no
longer conscious that I was nude. On the other hand, neither
was I conscious of having donned clothes. The bath did some-
thing to me in the way of clothing me. What, I don’t know.”

Says Mr. Pelley: “...I found myself an existing entity in
a locality where persons I had always called dead were not dead
at all. They were very much alive...”

He tells at great length of the wonderful things which he
witnessed in the realm of the so-called dead, where he was “‘con-
scious of a beauty and loveliness of environment that surpasses
chronicling on paper.”

136

““. .. Think of all the saintly, attractive, magnetic folk you
know, imagine them constituting the whole social world . . . and
the whole of life permeating with an ecstatic harmony as un-
iversal as air, and you get an idea of my reflections in those
moments.”

He continues: “ ... I pledge my prestige and reputation that
I talked with these people, identified many of them, called
others by their wrong names and was corrected, saw and did
things that night . . . that it is verboten for me to narrate in a
magazine article...”

In another place he says: “There is a survival of the human
entity after death of the body for I have seen and talked intelli-
gently with friends whom I have looked down upon as cold wax
in caskets.”

He resented having to return to his earthly body, but finally
his astral visit terminated.

““ ... I was caught in a swirl of bluish vapor that seemed to
roll in from nowhere in particular. Instead of plunging prone
I was lifted and levitated. Up, up, up I seemed to tumble, feet
first... A long, swift, swirling journey of this. And then some-
thing clicked. Something in my body. The best analogy is the
sound my repeating deer-rifle makes when I work the ejector
mechanism—a flat, metallic, automatic sensation...”

“T was sitting up in my physical body.”

That all this was a real conscious experience and not a dream,
Mr. Pelley well knew and on this point he states: “I am not given
to particularly graphic dreams. Certainly we never dream by the
process of coming awake first...”

Then came the aftermath. William Dudley Pelley, as all who
know him testify, has since been a changed man in every respect
—physically, mentally, and spiritually. While remarkable
physical changes took place within him, more remarkable still
were the latent psychic powers which were unlocked to enable
him to “tune in” with minds on other dimensions.

137

“I can,” he says, “proffer questions and get sensible and
oftimes invaluable answers.”

He has, for example, “tuned in” and written down 10,000
word lectures on abstruse aspects of science, cosmology and
metallurgy; has taken down a message in which an erudite
philologist found over a thousand words of pure Sanscrit, etc.

“T should already be the wisest man on earth,” he states, “if I
could be credited with fabricating this material from my own
subconscious mind.”

LEARNS TO PROJECT VOLUNTARILY

In his first letter to me, dated August, 11, 1929, Mr. Arthur
J. Wills, an architect and C. E. of Chicago, Illinois, writes:

“* ,.. All of my experiences were involuntary, though I tried
voluntary projection in ignorance of how to go about it... On
one occasion at a dentist’s office, without anesthetic, as he drilled
into my tooth, the pain became so acute that I actually ‘lost
myself’. Suddenly I found myself looking over the dentist’s
shoulder into my own mouth!

“Four years ago I was with a firm which had a temporary
office in an old building. One night I fell asleep, to find myself
later projected into the old building—going through it, up the
stairs, etc. I was as fully conscious as I ever was in my life. The
light was greyish. As I wandered about I noticed that no one
was at work. The thought struck me, ‘it is the middle of the night.
What am I doing here?’ And with that thought I was trans-
ferred back to my physical body.

“* ... Three years ago, while travelling on a train from Daven-
port to Minneapolis, I lay down on the seat and went to sleep.
Presently I found that I was propping myself up—physically,
I thought, until I discovered otherwise. I could see the passen-
gers behind me as easily as those in front of me; some slept,
some read, etc.

“Then I saw that it was not my physical body in which I was

138

consciously propped up (by my right arm) ; for, looking down-
ward, I saw my body still sleeping on the seat! For a few mo-
ments I enjoyed and admired this new and beautiful body (the
astral), which was rosy pink, glowing like a luminous pearl.
Something which looked like an ‘arm’ seemed to run down and
merge into the brain of the physical body. In a short time I was
back in my physical body again. Sitting up and looking around,
I saw the passengers back of me, just as I had seen them from my
luminous body . . . There seemed to be no procedure by which
I could learn to project at will...”

After the foregoing was written, Mr. Wills, who studied the
modus operandi for the production of the phenomenon as pub-
lished by this author, writes, on December 15, 1929:

“I have experienced it (projection) voluntarily of late. I
awake in the astral body, fully conscious, but after the body has
projected, and I do not experience the intermediate stages of
which you speak . . . If I think emotionally of my physical self
while owt I am instantly back into it again as a rule. . . Have
done things while projected which would be physically im-
possible, such as defying gravity, and being suspended in mid-
air... Once I walked down a corridor where scene after scene of
history passed in front of my eyes . . . When, while projected
at a great height, I realize there is no physical support under
me, I sometimes have a feeling of nausea.

“ ... If this realization (of non-support) comes slowly, so
that I can reason that the sensation is merely an attribute of the
physical body apart from the ‘me’, the real entity, I can over-
come it and retain passivity. But if the realization comes sudden-
ly, I return to the physical speedily with a shock, causing a jerk
of the body . . . As yet I cannot control circumstances while out.
I never know where, who, or what I may contact or observe.
I find myself merely a detached, rational intelligence, observing,
noting, and comparing what is actually about me.

«|, . On October 29 I went to bed, tried to project, and did
so. My astral body went out diagonally, toward the right, and

139

presently I found myself amid multi-colored rocks and trees
which were dripping wet with rain. I thought about my physical
body lying in bed, while here I was out in another body at the
same time.

“I tried to assure myself that everything would be all right,
as you pointed out in your book, but nevertheless I had a slight
feeling of alarm.. My astral body was white, as if draped. I
lifted my hand and said: ‘My trust is in God,’ and on doing so
the fear passed away . .. I began to move at a fair speed, passed
the rocks and trees, finally arriving on a paved wet street.

“As I passed along I drew aside as if I were afraid the wet
branches, if touched, would cause drops of rain to fall upon me.
I left the street and crossed the lawn. Just then I saw a glowing
sky-blue colored cloud on the lawn. A wish came to me that
I could see my wife, who had passed away some months before,
and I seemed to know instinctively that she was in that cloud.
As I approached nearer to it I began to lose consciousness and
was returned to my physical body . . . It was really raining
outside...”

Mr. Wills tells of consciously projecting to his sister’s home
in England, while, “‘at the same time I knew that my physical
body was in bed in U. S. A., and to prevent my instinctive
return before I was ready to go, I kept saying to myself: ‘Steady
now, it’s all right. Let us see what we can find out.’ I walked
out of the bathroom, into the bedroom where I used to sleep
and wandered about . . . I walked along the corridor a short
distance where I was stopped. Flesh-like arms were barring
me from going further.

“I could not distinguish who it was, but tried to push those
arms out of the way. My own arms seemed to merge into and
become a part of those which were barring me, though at right
angles. I was greatly irritated at this and pushed and pro-
tested vigorously ... In the struggle I became unconscious.”

Mr. Wills further says: “ ... In dreams there is always a
sense of confusion and disorder, as if one had nothing fixed or

140

concrete to tie to, and on awakening there is the immediate re-
alization of having been deluded by the somnolent mind. In
projection I find none of this. At first the sensation of being in
different conditions tends to arouse the emotions, which us-
ually return one to the physical.

“But when the emotions are controlled or dismissed from the
consciousness one is quite normal and rational. Consciousness
is not only self-evident but enlarged, reasoning faculties are ren-
dered more acute, there is no delusion about it . . . One is never
more clear-minded and intelligent than when projected and con-
scious... Yet all this sounds as ‘crazy’ as Columbus’ idea of trav-
elling straight West on a flat world, when the scientists ‘knew’ he
would fall over the edge...”

VISITS RELATIVES IN SPIRIT WORLD

In 1931 I received a letter from Mr. Maurice A. Craven, head
of Maurice A. Craven and Company of Pawtucket, R. I. in which
he gave me his permission to relate here an experience which
he underwent a few years before. |

In his account, Mr. Craven states that he felt very depressed
one day and the following night, shortly after going to sleep,
he became conscious of the fact that a strange ‘someone’ had
taken a powerful hold on his arm.

“Don’t be afraid—don’t be afraid,” the entity kept repeating
in monotone, according to Mr. Craven, who continues:

“I felt myself going upward as if I were in an express elevator.
Finally I stopped, but was not permitted to look behind me. My
invisible guide walked with me down the most beautiful boule-
vard. I ever saw. On either side there were magnificent trees
and the homes were gorgeous and like white marble.

““My guide took me through a lovely garden to where there
was an oddly shaped summer-home. To my surprise my grand-
father and grandmother both came out and welcomed me. We

141

had a long conversation about many things which we all
remembered.”

Mr. Craven tells how his grandparents told him that before
he went they wanted him to visit Lily, Vinnie and Charlie—his
aunts and uncle who had long ago passed away.

“ We continued walking down the street of magnificent trees
and houses, passing many persons and crowds of persons. They
all seemed very happy and smiled either at me or my guide.
Finally we arrived at the homes of my other relatives and they
too were glad to see me.

“As we went along I saw a place where a beautiful home was
in the process of construction. Who was building it, how it was
being built, what material was being used, I am at a loss to
know; but grandfather told me it was being prepared for
our family.

“I distinctly remember of asking them how they lived—what
they ate—but they only smiled knowingly at me and replied that
the air was vitalized for them, that they needed nothing, and that
their work was a labor of love.

“I did not go back to my body the way I came. I entered a
large coach where I found a handsome lounge inside. I was
told to lie down there for a while and in coma I was transported
back to my bed ... The memory of my journey will live with me
until I am ready to go over into the Great Beyond.”

142

PART THREE

THE VERITY CASE

In this case the initials only are used, but the writer of the
account was known to the officers of the S. P. R. who guarantee
his trustworthiness. The incident has been so oft-quoted that
I would not repeat it here again save for the fact that I wish to
refer back to it in discussing the objections of Professor Charles
Richet. On the other hand, it is interestingly unique in that the
projected double was produced experimentally (intentionally)
and was seen collectively (by two percepients) .

“On a certain Sunday evening, in November 1881, I, having
been reading of the great power of which the human will is
capable of exercising, determined with the whole force of my
being that I would present in spirit in the front bedroom of the
second floor of a house situated at 22 Hogarth Road, Kingston, in
which room slept two young ladies of my acquaintance, namely,
Miss L. S. V., and Miss E. C. V., aged respectively twenty-five
and eleven years.

“TI was living at the time at 23 Kildare Gardens, a distance
of about three miles from Horagth Road, and I had not men-
tioned in any way my intention of trying this experiment to
either of the ladies, for the simple reason that it was only on
retiring to rest upon this Sunday night that I made up my mind
to do so. The time at which I determined to be there was one
o’clock in the morning and I had a strong intention of making
my presence perceptible.

“On the following Tuesday I went to see the ladies in question,
and in the course of my conversation, without any allusion to
the subject on my part, the elder one told me that on the previous
Sunday night she had been much terrified by perceiving me
standing by her bedside, and that she screamed out when the
apparition advanced toward her, and awoke her little sister

145

who also saw me. I asked her if she was awake at the time and
she replied most decidedly in the affirmative, and, upon my
inquiring the time of the occurrence, she replied, ‘at about one
o’clock in the morning.’

“This lady, at my request, wrote down a statement of the
event, and signed it.” Mr. Gurney (one of the authors of Phan-
tasms of the Living) became deeply interested in these ex-
periments, and requested Mr. S. H. B. to notify him in advance
on the next occasion when he proposed to make his presence
known in this strange manner. Accordingly, March 22, 1884, he
received the following letter:

Dear Mr. Gurney:
I am going to try the experiment tonight of
making my presence perceptible at 44 Morland Square, at 12
p.m. I will let you know the result in a few days.
Yours very sincerely,

S. H. B.

The next letter, which was written April 3, contained the
following statement, prepared by the recepient, Miss L. S.
Verity:

“On Saturday night, March 22, 1884, at about midnight, I
had a distinct impression that S. H. B. was present in my room,
and I distinctly -saw him, being quite awake. He came toward
me and stroked my hair. I voluntarily gave him this informa-
tion when he called to see me on Wednesday, April 2, telling
him the time and circumstances of the apparition without any
suggestion on his part. The appearance in my room was most
vivid and quite unmistakable.”

Miss A. S. Verity also furnishes this corroborative statement:
“TI remember my sister telling me that she had seen S. H. B., and
that he touched her hair, before he came to see us on April 2.”

The agent’s statement of the affair is as follows: “On Sat-
urday, March 22, I determined to make my presence perceptible

146

to Miss V. at 44 Morland Square, Notting Hill, at 12 midnight;
and, as I had previously arranged with Mr. Gurney that I should
post him a letter on the evening on which I tried my next experi-
ment (stating the time and other particulars) I sent him a note
to acquaint him with the above facts. About ten days afterward
I called upon Miss Verity, and she voluntarily told me that on
March 22, at twelve o’clock, midnight, she had seen me so vividly
in her room (whilst wide awake) and that her nerves had been
much shaken, and she had been obliged to send for a doctor in
the morning.”

WHERE WAS LURANCY’S SPIRIT?

He who has not read of the Watseka Wonder has missed one of
the most convincing documents ever compiled in favor of spirit-
ism and the possibility of a spirit of the dead taking possession
of the body of a mortal. Presupposing such a possibility the
question which seems to have been overlooked is: Where is the
spirit of the mortal during this time of possession? Does it
remain in the body or is it dislodged from the body?

The main facts in the case of Lurancy Vennum (The Watseka
Wonder) follow: Lurancy Vennum, a young girl living with
her parents at Watseka, Illinois began having a series of spasms
accompanied by a purely physical ailment. Her condition grew
worse and finally she developed clairvoyant vision and was
apparently obsessed by lowly quarrelsome personalities.

Popular opinion in Watseka was that Lurancy was insane, in
fact a Methodist minister, Rev. B. M. Baker wrote an insane
asylum to make arrangements for taking her in. It happened,
however, just at this juncture, that a townsman, Mr. Asa D. Roff
(believing the case to be one of spirit possession) persuaded
Mr. Vennum to allow Dr. E. Winchester Stevens, of Janesville,
Wisconsin to investigate the case of his daughter, to which
Mr. Vennum consented.

Dr. Stevens went to Watseka and with Mr. Roff observed

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Lurancy during her states of possession, talked directly with
the entities obsessing her—who claimed to be spirits of the
dead—and was himself convinced that they actually were. From,
The Watseka Wonder* where I take all of my quotations,
I abbreviate:

*“ ,.. About half-past five, p. m. the visitors arose to depart;
she (Lurancy) also arose flung up her hands and fell to the floor.
. .- He (Dr. Stevens) by magnetic action, soon had her under
perfect control,” and was soon, “in full and free communica-
tion with the sane mind of Lurancy Vennum herself .. . She
answered the Doctor’s questions with reference to herself, her
seemingly insane condition, and the influences which controlled
her .. . She regretted having such evil controls around her. She
said she knew the evil spirit calling itself Katrina and Willie
and others.”

Dr. Stevens told her that it might be possible to induce some
more intelligent and upright spirit to control her, and on being
advised, she looked about—inquired of those she saw—de-
scribed and named them—hoping to find some entity present
who would be willing to come and keep the evil ones from
annoying her. Then she said to the mortals present: “There
are a great many spirits near who will gladly come,” and she
proceeded to give the names and description of persons long
since deceased, some she had never known but who were known
by those older persons present. She said there was one in par-
ticular who wanted to come and had been designated by “higher
-ups” to come whose name was Mary Roff.

Mr. Roff being present said: “That is my daughter! Mary
Roff is my girl—why, she has been in heaven twelve years! Yes,
let her come, we'll be glad to have her come.”

The next morning Mr. Vennum called at the office of Mr. Roff,
greatly excited, and told him that the girl (the consciousness in
Lurancy’s physical body) claimed to be Mary Roff. That she

*Austin Publishing Company, Los Angeles, California.
148

wanted to go home. That she “seemes like a child real homesick,
wanting to see her ‘pa’ and ‘ma’ and brothers.”

We read: “From the wild angry ungovernable girl to be kept
only by lock and key . . . the girl has now become mild, docile,
polite and timid, knowing none of the family, but constantly
pleading to go home. The best wisdom of the family was used
to convince her that she was at home and must remain—but she
would not be passified.”

“«.. About a week after she took control of the body, Mrs. Asa
B. Roff and her married daughter Mrs. Minerva Alter, hearing
of the remarkable change, went to see the girl. As they came in
sight, far down the street, the girl, looking out the window, ex-
claimed exultingly, ‘Here comes ma and sister Nervie!’ the name
she had called Mrs. Alter in girlhood. As they came into the
house, she caught them around the necks, wept and cried for joy
and seemed so happy to meet them . . . From this time on she
was only more homesick than ever.”

Eventually the situation became so unbearable for all con-
cerned that it became necessary to allow the girl (claiming to be
Mary Roff, in the body of Lurancy Vennum) to go and live with
the Roffs.

“On the eleventh day of February, they sent the girl to Roffs
where she convinced them that she was their natural daughter.
On being asked how long she would stay she said: “The angels
will let me stay till sometime in May.’ And she made it her home
there for three months and ten days, a happy contented daughter
and sister in a borrowed body . . . knowing every person and
everything that Mary knew when in her original body twelve
years to twenty-five years ago, recognizing and calling by
name those who were friends and neighbors of the family from
1852 to 1865 ... calling their attention to scores, yes hundreds
of incidents that transpired during her natural life. During all
of her sojourn at Mr. Roff’s she did not recognize any of the
Vennum family.”

Again we read: “So natural did it seem to her that she could

149

hardly believe that this was not her own original body born
nearly thirty years ago.”

As to the numerous incidents and proofs which established
the identity of the original Mary Roff, I cannot here concern
myself. They are fully set forth in the cited volume by Dr. E.
Winchester Stevens, Mr. Roff and others.

On the seventh of May, the possessor of the body (Mary Roff)
told her mother (Mrs. Roff) in tears that Lurancy Vennum was
soon coming back and take possession of the body again. During
all this time whenever Mary was asked where Lurancy was she
would reply: ‘Gone out somewhere’ or ‘in heaven’, etc.

Mary, having informed her family that at eleven o’clock on
May 21st, she would evacuate the body, which was now cured of
its physical ailment, and Lurancy would come back into it, Mr.
Roff wrote and mailed the following letter at ten o’clock—one
hour before the predicted change in personality :

“Mary is to leave the body of Rancy (Lurancy) today about
eleven o’clock, so she says. She is bidding neighbors and
friends good-by. Rancy to return home all right today. Mary
came from her room upstairs where she was sleeping with Lottie,
last night and lay down beside us, hugged and kissed us, and
cried because she must bid us good-by, telling us to give all her
pictures, marbles and cards, and twenty-five cents Mrs. Vennum
had given her, to Rancy, and had us promise to visit Rancy
often. She tells me to write to Dr. Stevens as follows: Tell him
I am going to heaven, and Rancy is coming home well . . . She
said weeping, ‘Oh pa J am going to heaven tomorrow at eleven
o'clock and Rancy is coming back cured and going home (to
Vennums) all right. She talked most lovingly about the separa-
tion to take place and most beautiful was her talk about heaven
and home...”

As eleven o’clock came Mary seemed loath to give up the
body and let Lurancy come back, but the transference took place
at the stated time and the old consciousness of Lurancy again
controlled it. At eleven-thirty Mr. Roff again wrote:

150

. .. I mailed you a letter at half-past ten o’clock . . . She
(Lurancy) wanted me to take her home, which I did. She called
me Mr. Roff and talked with me as a young girl would not being
acquainted. I asked her how things appeared to her—if they
seemed natural. She said it seemed like a dream to her. She met
her parents and brother in a very affectionate manner, hugging
and kissing each one in tears of gladness. I saw her father just
now and he says she has been perfectly natural and seems
entirely well. You see my faith in writing you yesterday morn-
ing instead of waiting till she came.”

The reader must by all means bear in mind that what I have
related here is but a brief, very incomplete sketch of what took
place, and that in its entirety the story is of great detail and
significance. It was fully vouched for as well as the reputation of
the persons involved, especially Mr. Roff who was the main
narrator and witness and Dr. Stevens. The newspapers of the
vicinity all gave attention to the occurrence and reported the
news on it fully at the time, and as the events transpired; while
several Court Judges, attorneys, business men and the mayor
of the village furnished their testimonials.

This case has always been a “thorn in the side” of orthodox
psychologists. Their theory of a “dual personality”—of a split
in the mind appears inane. If nothing is in the mind except
those things entering it through the medium of the five senses,
where did Mary Roff’s consciousness build from? Some psy-
chologists try to invent miracles to explain away plain facts.
Had the intelligent control Mary Roff have said: “I am merely
a character created by a spirit in Lurancy’s sub-conscious men-
tality,” the psychologists would quote it far and wide. But that
is not what she claimed. Mary Roff claimed to be the spirit of
Mary Roff and nothing more.

I would submit this question: If, as some of our psychologists
claim, in dual personality cases, the mind can create a perfect
secondary personality, why does it not create a secondary per-
sonality which is duplicate of some living mortal’s conscious-

151

ness? Why is it a duplicate of a former (dead) person’s con-
sciousness?

Just as Dr. William McDougall was forced to the tentive con-
clusion that “Sally” in the Beauchamp case was a spirit* so was
Dr. Hodgson similarly convinced that the case of Lurancy
Vennum belonged to the spiritistic category.

Imagine a girl, dead twelve years, coming back, proving her
identity, and living in the body of someone else! To the spirit-
ualists this case stands as a classic example which portrays their
teachings of healing, clairvoyance, survival, obsession, etc.

But the point which most concerns us here is this: Where
was the spirit of Lurancy Vennum? Evidently there is but one
answer—it was exteriorized, projected from her physical body,
and existing in another world. It was just where the admitted
intelligence known as Mary Roff said :—“Gone out somewhere.”

AN ANSWER TO RICHET’S OBJECTIONS

The only serious attempt to dispose of the phenomenon of
astral projection to come forth within the past forty years, aside
from Mr. Podmore’s ‘telepathic hallucination’ theory was pub-
lished in a book Our Sixth Sense, in 1929 (Rider) by the late
Charles Richet, in which that eminent Professor believed he
was setting forth a great discovery. As he himself said: “This
is a new chapter in psychology I claim to be writing.”

Richet would have the world believe that he had discredited
entirely the theory of astral projection in relation to so-called
“hallucinations,” (ghosts of the living) etc. His theory was
simply this:

“The real world sends out vibrations around us. Some of them
are perceived by our senses: others, not perceptible to our senses,
are disclosed by our scientific instruments: but there are still

®See, The Dissociation of a Personality, by Morton Prince, and the S. P. R.
Proceedings, Vol. XIX, pp 410-431.

152

others, perceived neither by our senses nor by our scientific in-
struments which act upon certain minds and reveal to them
fragments of reality.”

Now as a matter of fact there is nothing extraordinary in such
a deduction and his theory is the result of very elementary
reasoning. He could easily have deducted thus: (1) I cannot
deny these occurrences take place. (2) Telepathy alone will
not cover the facts. (3) I ignore the astral body theory. There-
fore I must presume the object, event, or person perceived sends
out an energy—a vibration; and, since the (seeing of) know-
ledge could not reach the percepient through the medium of the
five senses, ] must add another. Consequently my result is (1) a
vibration of reality and (2) a sixth sense—neither of which can
be explained.

As I stated, this is obvious but a deduction, very elementary
reasoning and purely suppositional, especially the “vibration”
part of it. Aside from imparting a savor of great egotism in his
work, at every opportunity the Professor denounces the astral
body theory, but each time he does so, promptly retreats to safe
ground by making such remarks as “I do not care to discuss it.”
The keynote to Richet’s work is quickly discovered: -to idolize
his newly thought-up idea and ignore all else.

He states (p. 22) that survival is a theory—that the existence
of spirits is pre-supposed—and for that reason he will not dis-
cuss it because he deals in facts only, that the astral body (p. 49)
is an audacious hypothesis; that the astral body (p. 52) theory
is idle and futile to discuss. Again, that there is no motive
for invoking the spiritistic hypothesis; that this hypothesis
apparently contradicts the most precise and definite data
of psychology.

Yet the same Richet—who says the spirit hypothesis is un-
worthy of discussion and pre-supposed—that he deals in facts
alone—turns deliberately around and admits his so-called vi-
bration of reality must be pre-supposed and is absolutely un-
known and inexplicable!

153

He deals only in facts, according to p. 22, p. 48, and elsewhere,
but on p. 10 says: “I frankly acknowledge the existence of a
sixth sense is something very vague and cloudy.” It must be
something like a ghost. But Richet resents “ghosts” so we
will conceive of his “vibration of reality” as a presumption,
and his sixth sense as a vague and cloudy fact.

Commenting on the Verity case (p.101) he says: “There is
nothing to prove that S. H. B.’s ghost, or astral body, manifested
itself objectively.” This is quite true and equally as true that
there is nothing to prove Richet’s theory covers the case.

Concerning the same case Richet calls the will of S. H. B. the
vibration of reality. His contention is that it is all the same
force or vibration of reality whether dealing with inanimate ob-
jects or thought. That is, if a percepient sees a house or other
inanimate object, it is the vibration from the object which he
sees. And if S. H. B. wills himself to appear to Miss Verity,
the will of S. H. B.—his thought—s the vibration.

Now note this: In the Verity case Richet says thought is the
vibration (p. 101) and yet on p. 208 he says he “would sooner
believe it was the writing, the name, the event, which vibrates
and not thought.” In attempting to explain the Verity case he
has consigned his “new chapter in psychology” way back to the
days of Mr. Podmore’s thought transference. Such contradic-
tion proves beyond a doubt that his whole theory is a pure
speculation.

While the master mind F. W. H. Myers wrote pages and pages
on probable explanations for collective hallucinations, Richet
disposes of the Verity case, in its collective aspects in fourteen
words, qualified by may:—‘“the sixth sense may function by
calling up the same image in two minds.”

In trying to explain what he admits is a “hypothesis of a vi-
bration of reality” (p. 208)—and admits it in capital letters—
he says:“This is an attempt (a provisional one, of course) at a
theory of metapsychical knowledge.” Mind you, this is an
attempt at a theory. And in spite of the fact that he states time

154

after time that he does not discuss theory, that he deals only in
facts! Spiritism is unworthy of discussion because it is an au-
dacious theory! It seems the vogue to overlook inconsistency
if it comes from a scientist with a long list of degrees affixed to
his signature.*

However, Richet is not always inconsistent, he does express
fact when he says on p. 212 of his sixth sense, that it is a “new
psychological notion.”

Again he reaffirms: “I remain matter of fact and make no hy-
pothesis” and constantly insists that he deals in facts alone;
that, therefore the spiritistic idea is out of the question, but now
once more he contradicts himself (p. 224) with the assertion:
““We have dared to say that it was a matter of vibration. Of
course that is a hypothesis . .. Let us then assume the hypothesis
of vibration, and not admit the other hypothesis” (the spirit-
istic) .

In the fore part of his work Richet says in effect that the astral
body theory appears more simple—but that is no reason for
accepting it.

Near the close of his work he contends his theory is more
simple—that it should therefore be accepted.

The Professor tells us that we should place little credence in
observation or statements related by others who witnessed cer-
tain psychic phenomena, because observations become distorted
—added to and subtracted from—in the individual’s mind.
Still a goodly share of his book is devoted to building up his case
on the observations of himself and others—even on dreams and
hallucinations!

He maintains that his “new psychological notion” would
eliminate the necessity of infering an astral body and for that
reason it is futile to discuss the latter.

*Some scientists, like Richet, have the opinion that if they can concoct
a theory which cou/d account for a phenomenon, that it therefore does
account for it.

155

He also maintains that his “notion” eliminates the inference of
telepathy—but he does discuss the latter. Richet here surely
proves he carries a “grudge” against the astral body theory.

On page 225 he tells us further that in dealing with ectoplasms,
materializations, levitations, ghosts walking around, etc., the
phenomena “depend upon a small number of subjects whose
honesty is problematical.” This can be nothing short of an
insult to many spiritualists. I only hope their honesty never be-
comes as problematical as Richet’s logic.

Richet asks (p. 52): “Is the hypothesis of a ghost, or astral
body becoming materialized and traversing space more prob-
able than that of a special indeterminate vibration?”

First he belittles our (believers in spirit) intelligence, then
insults us, then asks our opinion on a question which is a delib-
erate misstatement of facts. The misstatement being “an astral
body becoming materialized and traversing space.” I challenge
all followers of Richet to cite one single instance where such a
contention is made by spiritists.

Of course, this sort of twisting of phraseology, coupled witn
such catchy adjectives as “a phantom in flesh and bone” (p. 52)
help Richet along in his desire to humiliate the astral body
hypothesis, but scientific honesty is not a matter of advancing
one theory by misrepresenting its opposing theory. A medium
resorting to such tactics would be promptly charged with fraud
or perhaps his honesty would be considered problematical.

In condemning Dessoir for ridiculing the experiments of Mrs.
Piper, Richet says (p. 196): “He (Dessoir) attempts to be
impartial, and yet he follows the detestable method of many of
our opponents, i. e. instead of grappling with the most favorable
experiments he deals with the least favorable.”

And that is exactly what Richet does when trying to evade
the spiritistic hypothesis—picks out and discusses only incidents
most favorable to his theory and refuses to go into the more
significant problems. Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle
black?

156

Although Richet contends that psychical manifestations are
distorted by the mind of the witness, he, telling of an experiment
he witnessed over fifty years before—which he offers as evidence
supporting his theory—says: “I remember it as though it hap-

pened yesterday!

When he comes to a discussion of premonitions (p. 184)
which he admits occur, it is easily seen that Richet senses the
futility of his explanation. Though he stoutly insists on p. 52
that “all groups of facts must admit of the same explanation”
(which is anything but true)* the ardor of his explanation
seems to die out when it clashes with premonitions.

He devotes two small paragraphs to the subject in which he
states that, “in all probability premonition is also connected
with the sixth sense” and that “to remain faithful to the pro-
gramme we will say nothing about premonitions.”

The reader will note that Richet does not even mention his so-
called “vibration of reality” in this connection. Here is the
reason why:—In premonition—where things seen occur in the
future—there can be no vibration of reality; because the thing
seen is not yet in reality and consequently can send out no vi-
bration of reality. Denying higher planes of mind, Richet’s
theory now strikes a stone wall. Little wonder he prefers not to
discuss the matter.

Sifted down, Richet’s wonderful discovery, his new chapter
in psychology, is a supposition of a ‘vibration of reality’ on
the one hand and a mild admission of superconscious re-
sources of mind on the other hand; the latter being a long estab-
lished belief among thousands of enlightened people, and
nothing new.

In truth, Richet himself is forced to admit in the conclusion

“Here is where I disagree with most of the researchers in this line. I say
that a single fact sometimes admits of several explanations, e. g. ghosts
of the living may be accounted for on several different theories and not
one alone. S. M.

157

of his book that “there is perhaps a seventh, an eighth eense.”
Is that not synonymous with “superconsciousness”? How can
consciousness be separated from the senses or the senses func.
tion without mind? Scientific pride, of course, restrains Richet
from using the words “superconscious mind,” so he ventures
forth with sixth, seventh, and eighth senses,—it sounds more
scientific.

We must not criticise Richet too strongly for these contra.
dictions and evasions, for he was a human being, and like all of
us, guided to a great extent by his emotions—his desires and
sentiments. Often we believe ourselves to be using logic when
we are really only expressing our inner sentiments, sometimes
quite unconsciously. We can always depend upon our minds to
evolve a chain of argument to defend those things we enjoy, or
ridicule those things we oppose. And we often do this without
understanding the true underlying reason. So it was, I believe,
with Richet; I feel his arguments against the spiritistic hypoth-
esis show at every hand that they were expressions, not of actual
logic, but of sentiment.

I ask my readers now to overlook the contradictory state-
ments of Professor Richet, which it has been necessary for me to
point out in setting forth my case for astral projection, and let
us pay tribute to his memory as a fearless, out-spoken human
being who had the courage at least to investigate and admit
certain psychical phenomena really did occur—even though
we may not agree with his explanations at all times. Let us be

glad that he lived.

WAS MRS. PIPER PROJECTED?

Probably the most remarkable, most scientifically investi-
gated, and best attested case of trance mediumship in the history
of psychical science is that of Mrs. Piper. Her case was so
thoroughly gone into and extensively chronicled by such emin-
ent persons as Dr. Hodgson, F. W. H. Myers, Professor James,

158

Professor Newbold, Professor Hyslop, Dr. Walter Leaf, Sir
Oliver Lodge, and so many many other trustworthy and honest
investigators who have written voluminously their reports on
it, that I am sure the great majority of my readers already
know the full history of it.

Newcomers into the psychic field would profit greatly by a
thorough study of the original reports; but to give those par-
ticular persons a vague idea of what took place during. Mrs.
Piper’s trances, I quote in abbreviated form from Dr. Hodgson’s

report in Vol. XXXIII of the S. P. R. Proceedings:

“, . . She seems to be partly conscious, as it were, of two

worlds . . . She sees figures and hears voices before she has
completely lost her consciousness.” When in deep trance she
seems to “possess, not the dreamy consciousness of the previous
stage—partly aware of two worlds—but a fuller and clearer
consciousness . . . which is in direct relation, however, not so
much with our ordinary physical world, as with another world
..- What I believe happens is that Mrs. Piper’s normal or supra-
liminal consciousness becomes in some way dormant, and that
her subliminal consciousness withdraws completely from the
control of her body and takes her supraliminal consciousness
with it.

““.. - The upper part of her body tends to fall forward, and
I support her head with cushions on a table. About this time,
or shortly afterwards . . . the right arm manifests a control by
what seems to be another consciousness and begin to make move-
ments suggesting writing . . . The upper part of the body, in-
cluding the left arm is then usually controlled by one person-
ality and the right arm by another . . . The personalities con-
trolling respectively the hand and the voice showed apparently
a complete independence. (Dr. Phinuit controlled the voice;
George Pelham, the hand) . . . Whether ‘spirits’ as they assert,
or not, Phinuit and the other consciousness controlling the
hand appear to be entirely distinct from each other, and fre-
quently carry on separate conversations—simultaneous and

159

independent—with different sittere. ... The writing produced is
very different from Mrs. Piper’s ordinary writing.

“* ... The hand behaves at times as though one consciousness
withdrew from the hand to make room for another; and at other
times as though the sudden arrival of another ‘indirect commun-
icator’ nearly ousted the direct communicator from the hand . . .”

As to the question of fraud, Professor James, in The Psycho-
logical Review, states that he implicitly agreed with all other in-
vestigators of Mrs. Piper, that such a hypothesis was entirely
out of the question, and goes on to say:

“The medium has been under observation, much of the time
under close observation, as to most of the conditions of her
life, by a large number of persons, eager, many of them, to
pounce upon any suspicious circumstance for fifteen years.
During that time, not only has there been not one single sus-
Picious circumstance remarked, but not one suggestion has
ever been made from any quarter which might tend positively
to explain how the medium, living the life she leads, could
possibly collect information about so many sitters by natural
means.”

Professor James continues: “The scientist who is confident
of fraud here, must remember that in science as much as in
common life a hypothesis must receive some positive specifica-
tion and determination before it can be profitably discussed,
and a fraud which is no assigned kind of fraud, but simply
‘fraud’ at large, fraud in abstracto, can hardly be regarded as
a specially scientific explanation of concrete facts...”

There were three periods of time and three differing con-
ditions manifested during Mrs. Piper’s trances:

(1) From the years 1884 to 1891 the dominant controlling
personality (claiming to be a disembodied spirit) known as
Dr. Phinuit who used the vocal organs almost exclusively.

(2) From 1892 to 1896 when another control (claiming also
to be a spirit) known as George Pelham communicated

160

chiefly by automatic writing—although the major control
(Dr. Phinuit) also communicated by speech during the same
period.

(3) Where other alleged spirits of the dead supervised and
communicated mostly by automatic writing, but occasionally

by speech.

During these trances an abundance of supernormal infor-
mation was given out to the sitters present, by these alleged
spirit controls of Mrs. Piper—information which could be
checked and proved. While I would enjoy relating some of
these communications, space forbids, so in this connection |

refer especially to Vol. XIII of the S. P. R. Proceedings.

Now aside from the conclusions of many of the investigators,
such as the statement of Dr. Hodgson that he believed that Mrs.
Piper’s entire mentality—conscious and unconscious—with-
drew from her body, there are many other incidents which
would bring us to the conclusion that her spiritual body actually
exteriorized or projected from its physical counterpart during
these trances.

Is it not a curious coincidence that noises such as snapping,
cracking, clicking, etc., especially in the head, should be heard
by persons at the moment they claim to have exteriorized or
interiorized when having an out-of-the-body experience—while
noises of the same character are described as occurring when
Mrs. Piper had her trances?

In this book you will find reference to many such noises in
the various accounts. For instance, Mrs. Brewster says: “There
was a zinging in my ears and in a moment | sat up breathless
in my physical body.” Mr. Edgerton says: “To my ears came
a note, corresponding to the middle E on a piano.” In the
account captioned Walks on air, Sees Physical Body, the narra-
tor says: “There came a flashing of lights in my eyes and a ring-
ing in my ears.” Mr. Gerhardi says: “It seemed to me as if a

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dozen coolies, among much screeching and throbbing were
lowering some precious burden which was myself.” Oliver Fox
tells of a cerebral click as he found himself back in his body.
Mr. Pelley says: “A long, swift swirling journey . . . and then
something clicked. Something in my body. The best analogy is
the sound my repeating deer-rifle makes when I work the ejector
mechanism—a flat metallic sensation ...” Dr. Wilste stated
that he “felt and heard the snapping of innumerable small
cords.”

I discussed these noises in The Projection of the Astral Body
and said, in part: “...A peculiar noise which seems close to
the ear or inside the head. A very common one is ‘pop!’ as if
a toy balloon burst close to the ear. Another is a loud ‘sizz,’
and sometimes a sound inside the brain, causing that organ
to vibrate. Another is a cracking sound, not unlike the noise
made by an electric spark when the positive and negative posts
of a battery are touched together. This sound is usually heard
just at the take-off of projection as well as at the moment of re-
coincidence, and seems to be in the head, near the back part of
the skull.

“Still another kind of sound commonly heard is a zing as if
a string were tightly drawn through the head and then struck,
as one might strike the strings of a guitar . . . The striking thing
about these noises is the way in which they can be felt—yes,
actually felt—moving inside of one’s skull; one’s brain seems
to shake like the diaphragm of a drum which vibrates when
struck and resounds...”

Besides these head-noises testified to by those claiming to
have been out of their bodies, the reader will recall the very
large number of instances in which the projected phantom saw
the astral cord. IS IT BUT ANOTHER COINCIDENCE THAT
MRS. PIPER WOULD MENTION NOT ONLY THE SNAPP-
ING NOISES BUT ALSO THE CORD?

On one occasion when coming out of trance she said: “They
(meaning the spirit controls) are going away, too bad—‘snap.””

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Of this, Sir Oliver Lodge remarked: “She refers to a sensa-
tion which she calls a snap in the head, which nearly always
heralds a return to consciousness. Sometimes (the snapping
sounds) herald almost a sudden return, and she is always more
conscious after the snap than before; but often it takes two
snaps to bring her to. What this snap is? I do not know but sus-
pect it to be something physiological.”

Professor Hyslop in his Observations of Certain Trance Phen-
omena (S. P. R. Proceedings VOL. XVI) states that “Mrs. Piper
heard her head snap,” and that she said to the sitters: “You
heard my head snaps didn’t you? When my head snaps I can’t
tell you anything ...”

NOW NOTICE THIS PASSAGE ESPECIALLY IN WHICH
MRS. PIPER SPEAKS OF THREE OCCURRENCES COIN-
CIDING WITH PROJECTION PHENOMENA, (1) coming
into her body— (2) head noises— (3) seeing the astral cord:

“They (the spirits) were talking to me. I came in on a.cord—
a silver cord—another snap.”

Again Mrs. Piper said: “A line—a line goes out from me to
them.” There are many such instances as these which strongly
indicate a close relation between her trances and projection.

The controls too (who claimed to occupy her vacated physical
shell) stated that they could see the medium leaving and re-
turning to her physical body. For instance, Dr. Phinuit said to
Sir Oliver Lodge (S. P. R. Proceedings Vol. VI, p516) : “Cap-
tain, do you know when I came in, / met the medium going
out...”

Lodge says that Phinuit, the major control “seems to give up
his place for the other personality—friend or relative—who
then communicates with something of his old manner and
individuality.” And in another instance Sir Oliver says: “It is
quite as if he, in his turn, evacuated the body, just as Mrs.
Piper had done, while a third personality uses it for a time.”

Again Lodge continues: “While the dominating controls

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know Mrs. Piper well—sometimes speak of seeing her going
out as they are coming in—a new control does not know who she
is or what she has to do with the business . . . sometimes the con-
trol speaks of having tried to grasp the ‘spirit of light’ (Mrs.
Piper’s luminous body) and give it a message as it was return-
ing to the physical body.”

In the S. P. R. Vol. XIII, pp308f, Dr. Hodgson states that
George Pelham informed the sitter that he could not make
Dr. Phinuit understand what he wanted him to say so he told the
medium just as she was returning to her body again. On being
informed that Mrs. Piper had delivered the message right after
re-entering her physical body, Pelham remarked: “Good—you
see, | saw her spirit just as she was coming in and as I could not
tell Dr. Phinuit (the voice control) I took a chance.”

In Vol. VIII of the Proceedings p. 130, Dr. Phinuit speaking
to the sitter, Mr. Rich said: “Here is Newell, and he wants to
talk to you ‘Reach’"—20 Ill go about my business whilst you are
talking and will come back later.” Confusion followed and
Mr. Rich claims he heard Dr. Phinuit say “Here, Newell, you
come by the hands, while I go out by the feet.”

When Professor James told Dr. Phinuit to force the medium’s
eye-balls into their normal waking position, he did so and then
asserted that he had “got twisted round somehow and couldn’t
find his way out again.”

Are those statements and testimonials not striking evidence
in favor of the theory that man has a spirit and that under certain
conditions it can be projected from the body? While I did not
intend to set forth any of my own conclusions or opinions in
this book, I am going to break that promise just once and say
that I contend that this is a case in which the projection of
the astral body figured.

For the life of me, I cannot understand how any intelligent
person, admitting the Piper phenomena occurred at all, has the
utter stupidity to grope around trying to find some flimsy theory
to offer as a substitute for the spiritistic. Some of our so-called

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scientists must be indeed intoxicated by egotism, fear of ridicule,
pride, or downright dogmatic antagonism, to admit this phenom-
ena occurred, yet try to explain it away by a more unbelievable
hypothesis than the spiritistic.

Even the arch-sceptic, Richet, who ired so many spiritualists,
and never missed a chance to deny and disfavor the spiritistic
hypothesis, was unwilling to make himself ridiculous by offer-
ing his “Sixth Sense” to fully cover the facts in the Piper case.
Rather than admit this spiritistic hypothesis, he prefers not to
discuss it much and only did to the extent of picking out a few
instances which his theory might cover—and evade all the rest
in a suave manner, and by fully defending himself in advance.
In his last work of note (Our Sixth Sense) he says:

“ ,.. The facts relating to Mrs. Piper are probably the most
important that have ever been obtained. At the risk of appear-
ing too timid, we will not discuss the spiritistic hypothesis,
although the experiments with Mrs. Piper frequently, though
not always, admit more readily of a spiritistic explanation than
of any other...”

When Mrs. Piper goes into trance, George Pelham says that
“she passes out as your ethereal goes out when you sleep” .. .
and after death “everything is expressed in thought . . . but
necessarily, as you see, depend upon the body of another person
or Ego in the material world to express one’s thought fully,
after the annihiliation of one’s own material body...”

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that this control’s true
nature is a matter of speculation. If this intelligence was as a
conscious individual, like a normal personality—reasonably
eane and logical, precise, giving out truthful information,—
then why, in the name of common sense would this intelligence
claim to be a spirit, if it were not? If it were some other strata
of mind, and was able to reason, why would it not say it was
some other strata of mind? Why does he claim to be a spirit of
the dead? He would have no reason for doing so!

165

I maintain that when the controls told the truth about other
matters they told the truth about themselves—that they were
dis«mbodied spirits—and that they told the truth about Mrs.
Piper—that she evacuated her body and they occupied it. I
maintain that when Mrs. Piper claims to “see a cord—come into
her body on a cord—hear her head snap and become conscious
physically; that when Phinuit says “when I came in, I met the
Medium going out,” etc., etc.—the case is evidental testimony in
favor of the projection of the astral body, and that therefore
some of our greatest scientista have already corroborated this
testimony, by their own admissions.

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CONCLUSION

I now wish to make my position perfectly clear. While pro-
jection of the astral body must remain but a theory to those
who have not experienced it, I am personally convinced beyond
a doubt of its reality and of a posthumous existence.

Yet I do not maintain, as do many Spiritualists, that all
psychical phenomena is to be attributed solely to spirit. Neither
do I swing to the other extreme, as do many psychical research-
ers, and credit none to spirit. What I do maintain is that we
have multiplex psychical phenomena and it admits of multi-
plex explanations—some spiritistic, some mental, some inter-
dependent of both.

This is where I quarrel with most of my contemporaties,
both Spiritualists and psychical researchers. As I stated at
the beginning of this book that no single explanation will
suffice to cover all cases, I again repeat that often one single
psychical occurrence admits of several hypothesis; often several
psychical occurrences seem covered by a single hypothesis;
and often no hypothesis appears sufficient to cover a given
occurrence.

The reader will readily see that while the supposition or
hypothesis of telepathy or “vibration of reality” or the like,
could easily be invoked, in absence of proof, as covering
many instances where phantasms of the living have been seen,
that no other explanation but projection of the astral body will
suffice to cover cases like those listed in part two of this book

Again, there are cases which not one of the foregoing explan-
ations will cover satisfactorily; cases, for instance, with a pre-
monitional aspect, in which the percepient sees his own double.
I cite a few:

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Abraham Lincoln, for instance, shortly after his election
in 1860 told of seeing two veritble ghosts of himself, simul-
taneously—but the face of one of them was “five shades paler”
than that of the other.

The uncanny occurrence was interpreted by Mrs. Lincoln as a
sign that he would be elected twice but would not live through
his second term!

Percy Bysshe Shelley, on June 23, 1822 while living at Pisa,
Italy saw his own phantom double. It bekoned to him and, al-
though terrified, Shelley followed it down to the sea where he
lost sight of it. Two weeks later Shelley was drowned in that
very sea! 4

Then there was the case of Professor M. W. L. De Witte, the
critic. The Professor says that he “saw his own ghost” walking
in front of himself and entering the house where he lived. This
caused him to turn back and go to a hotel for the night. Next
morning when he returned home he found that the ceiling of his
bedroom had fallen and buried the bed—where he would have
slept—in a heap of rubbish!

Geethe, the mighty German, recounts an account of this
nature which happened to himself, in two of his works, Wahrheit
und Dichtung and Aus Meinem Leben. When he was twenty-one
he said “goodby” to Fredericka Biron, the girl he loved, and
rode sadly away from Sesenheim, in Alsace, the town where she
lived. On reaching the path leading to Drusenheim he suddenly
saw a phantom double of himself in a gray suit embroidered
with gold, such as he had never worn before. The double was
riding toward him and back toward the home of Fredericka. He
watched the phantom until it vanished and declared it had a
calming influence upon him in those unhappy moments follow-.
ing the parting.

“‘How strange”, Goethe relates, that eight years later I found
myself riding along the same road to visit Fredericka again,

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wearing the gray suit with gold trimmings that I had seen on the
phantom double—and I wore it not by design, but by chance!”

Maurice Meterlinck the world famous author, who claims
to have had many premonitions, believes that they never fortell
a fortunate event, yet many cases seem to contradict this, and
my observation is that some appear to have a definite purpose
while others fortell only something casual and of little real
significance.

I would feel chagrined to offer the astral body theory as a
definite explanation to cases like the foregoing. Certainly they
cannot be explained by telepathy. And there was no “vibration
from the real world about us”, as Richet would have it, because,
e. g. in the case of Goethe, the phantasmal double appeared
eight years before the event took place in reality. There was the
superconscious aspect too—that of being enabled to see the
gray suit and gold trimmings.

Occurrences like these require, among other things, a study
of the true nature of time and space (of the fourth dimension)
which is outside the bounds of this work. So, in this connec-
tion I would refer to the valuable contribution to the subject
An Experiment With Time by J. W. Dunne.*

But I caution my readers in advance, not to be led away by
the assertions of Mr. Dunne against the astral body theory,
merely because he is a scientist of high standing; for his
assertions are, like Richet’s, pre-supposed and obvious an ex-
pression of sentiment, not logic.

We are told that being a scientist, he could not entertain the
idea of spirit, telepathy, clairvoyance, etc. In other words he
had his mind made up, against the spiritistic hypothesis, in

*Mr. Dunne had numerous dreams in which he saw events which later
occurred in the physical world. From those dreams, he evolved his hy-
pothesis of time and space.

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advance, and a biased mind cannot be truly impartially ecien-
tific. He says:

“There can be no reasonable doubt that the idea of a soul
must have first arisen in the mind of primitive man as the result
of observation of his dreams. Ignorant as he was he could have
come to no other conclusion but that, in dreams, he felt his
sleeping body in one universe and went wandering off in
another. It is considered that, but for that savage, the idea of
such a thing as a soul would never have even occurred to man-
kind; so that arguments subsequently introduced to bolster up
a case thus fainted at its source can have no claim to anyone's
serious attention.”

Now any school-child knows that this is a personal suppos-
ition. How can Dunne or anyone else possibly know at this
late date where the belief in a soul had its inception? He knows
no more about where the belief originated than the ignorant sav-
age of which he speaks. And it seems rather a startling paradox
that while the belief in a soul is, according to Dunne, tainted
at its source, mostly because it had its inception in dreams, that
Mr. Dunne’s wonderful discovery, claimed to be of “so signi-
ficant a character as to effect our entire conception of human
life” likewise had its inception in dreams—his dreams! *

I recall that Richet maintained the idea of immortality orig-
inated from a desire to continue living. The two great scien-
tists disagree on a question which no one could possible know
anything about! The truth is both were “guessing” and are
pawning off their personal ideas in the name of science. Are
we to presume from Dunne’s own assertion that his theory of
time and space—having had its inception in dreams—is tainted
at its source and can have no claim to anyone’s serious atten-
tion? And can he prove that he ever had a dream? No, he

*Notice that we are not founding our case for projection (part two) on
dreams, but on consciousness.

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cannot. Neither can persons claiming to have projected prove
their statements; because both dreams and projections are sub-
jective phenomena and only self-evident to the individual
experiencing them.

So, while I heartily recommend Dunne’s book as a study of
‘out of time’ psychical experiences there must be a separation of
the wheat (facts) from the chaff (presumptions) and his work
while laudable as a whole, like Richet’s, does not disprove the
astral body theory one iota.

It seems rather an amusing fact that while the idea of a spirit
has persisted for centuries and centuries, the only argument
which can be brought against it—even by first-rate scientists— is
an expression of their own personal opinions and sentiments.

Viewed from the opposite angle, the fact must not be over-
looked that such men as Crookes, Lodge, Wallace, and numerous
other first-rank scientists famous the world over, have not hes-
itated to publicly announce their acceptance of the spiritistic
hypothesis.

Undoubtedly the most extensive investigator of his time whose
writings fairly bubble-over with profound logic and intricate
analysis, was F. W. H. Myers, his unbiased attitude having
been praised even by his strongest opponents. Myers says:

“These self-projections represent the most extraordinary
achievements of the human will, and are perhaps acts which a
man might perform equally well before and after death.”

Although I could have greatly enlarged upon the evidence for
astral projection, I feel that enough has now been set forth to
convince the average reader that we are dealing with a phenom-
enon which is anything but mythical.

The testimony of ten persons claiming to have experienced
a certain occurrence should carry far more weight than the

171

denial of ten thousand persons admitting they know nothing
about the subject. So to this latter class—those who deny—I
ask: How can you deny that which you admit you know nothing
of? Because you have not experienced projection of the astral
body does not prove that no one else has.

In a court of law your opinions on a case would be thrown
out as worthless if you knew nothing of the case. You could
not even get upon the witness chair; and only those persons
claiming to have knowledge of the case would be qualified
as witnesses.

I have presented my witnesses and their experiences cannot
be explained except by the projection of the astral body. If you
cannot accept their word, whom would you expect to accept
yours, were you to undergo a definitely describable con-
scious experience?

Sir Oliver Lodge has pointed out that denial is no more in-
fallible than assertion. Our courts of justice are functioning
upon this principle. And, after all, is it not a remarkable co-
incidence that so many people claim to have seen phantoms
of the living, while so many others claim to have been phan-
toms of the living?

By presenting the testimony of the latter group, I maintain
that we have an air-tight case for the projection of the astral
body, which cannot be credited to any other explanation. This
reminds me of what the noted English writer H. Ernest Hunt—
who collected a number of cases similar to those I have set
down in part two—-said:

“The tales they tell are essentially the same, and unleas one
is quite gratiously to assume that they are all telling lies, and
more wonderful still, the same lie, it is only reasonable to sup-
pose they tell the truth.”

And, once we admit the reality of the projection of the astral
172

body we are forced to a conclusion similar to that of G. R. S.
Mead, who long ago wrote:

“In my opinion, it is this . . . subtle body idea, which for so
many centuries has played the dominant role in the traditional
psychology of both the East and the West, that is most de-
serving of being retried, reviewed, and revised, to serve as a
working hypothesis to co-ordinate and explain a very large
number of these puzzling psychical phenomena.”

173

THE ARIES PRESS

GEORGE ENGELKE

CHICAGO, ILL.